“It is ridiculous to [have a lawyer send in a legal letter] saying you should not talk about these issues because those are the issues that need to be open to the public ... for the circulation of ideas,” said Jose Carlos Ugaz, global chairman of the Berlin-based group.

“If you have not done anything wrong, why try to impede people to talk or investigate about those cases? That’s a terrible sign, ” Ugaz said at a media roundtable with Hong Kong journalists at the North Point headquarters of the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

“Censorship will never be accepted by an organisation like ours,” Ugaz added, in response to a question about the issue raised by an Apply Daily journalist.

The newspaper has so far not agreed to Leung’s demand for an apology.

In comments to the media after the legal letter was sent to the newspaper, Leung defended the move. “Press freedom and the media’s responsibility to report the whole truth do not contradict one another,” he said.

Ugaz said he met Leung on Tuesday as part of a two-day visit to the city.

“What he said and the way he said it made me feel that he was [truthful] in his expression ... but I cannot get into his head or his soul,” Ugaz said.

Asked whether the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance should be further tightened to ensure a chief executive could be held to account for corruption, Ugaz said: “If there is such a gap in the legal system, it should be addressed”.

“Nobody should be above the law. If there are situations or allegations of wrongdoing, the state should have all the means in order to investigate that person if he is a king, a president, prime minister or chief executive,” Ugaz said.

“We heard about the case. We asked yesterday about it. We received a response ... [Peh] says it has nothing to do with the investigation [and] her departure,” Ugaz said.