Mainland Chinese police hand case on the 12 Hong Kong fugitives to prosecutors
- Shenzhen police pass their file on the 12 to prosecutors after completing their investigation
- The dozen suspects, all wanted in relation to last year’s Hong Kong protests, were intercepted trying to flee to Taiwan via speedboat in August
Shenzhen police have handed the case of the 12 Hong Kong fugitives held in mainland China to prosecutors to decide whether they should move ahead with criminal proceedings.
Relatives of the suspects hoped the decision would be made within a month as specified by mainland legislation, and that there would be an open trial if the prosecutions went ahead, according to an opposition activist citing responses from some of the families.
12 Hong Kong fugitives officially accused of illegal border crossing
The authorities said on Friday that police had concluded their investigation into the case of the 12 activists accused of entering mainland waters illegally while trying to flee to Taiwan.
“The Yantian office of the Shenzhen public security bureau has completed the investigation of the 12 suspects ... allegedly organising others to cross the border illegally, and crossing the border illegally,” the office said in a statement.
“In accordance with the law, the case is transferred to Yantian People’s Procuratorate in Shenzhen to examine and prosecute.”
The 11 men and a woman, aged 16 to 33, were arrested in mainland waters after the China Coast Guard intercepted their Taiwan-bound speedboat on August 23.
Since then, they have been held in a detention centre in Shenzhen, Guangdong province.
Several of the families a week ago received long-awaited handwritten letters purportedly from those detained, some of whom asking their relatives to refrain from speaking too much about the case.
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Family of 12 Hong Kong detainees in the mainland plead for release and access to independent lawyers
Mainland police’s decision on Friday was made within the two-month legal limit for holding criminal suspects in custody during an investigation. The authorities formally approved the arrests on September 30.
According to China’s Criminal Procedure Law, prosecutors should make a decision within one month of receiving a recommendation to initiate a prosecution by a public security agency. An extension of about two weeks may be allowed for major or complex cases.
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Citing families’ comments on Friday’s development, Owen Chow Ka-shing said they hoped that the decision-making process for prosecuting would not drag on for more than a month.
“[The families] are also deeply concerned about whether their loved ones will face an open trial? Can they [relatives] attend the hearing?” he said.
Mainland law states that first hearings in a People’s Court shall be heard in public, except those involving state secrets or individual privacy issues. But cases relating to minors accused of committing crimes will be heard in private.
Chow added that local activists would set up street booths in Hong Kong next Tuesday to mark 100 days since the group were arrested and to raise awareness of their plight.
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Taiwan rally calls for release of 12 Hong Kong fugitives detained in mainland China
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Erick Tsang Kwok-wai was asked at a press conference on Friday to respond to mainland police’s latest move.
“The secretary for security has [previously] explained the situation. The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Guangdong and immigration colleagues have been offering help [to the 12 detained],” he said.
Hong Kong’s Security Bureau said it noted the case had been submitted for prosecution assessment. It added that the matter fell within the mainland’s jurisdiction and that public security authorities there were handling this in accordance with their legal system.
The bureau also said families of the 12 could continue to approach the Immigration Department for assistance.
Ten in the group were arrested on suspicion of crossing the border illegally, with the other two held for organising the attempt.
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Relatives of the detained have not been allowed to meet those in custody, while the suspects have not had access to their lawyers of choice.
The Shenzhen authorities told them they were already being represented by other lawyers.
According to a recording obtained by the Post, an officer of Yantian’s public security bureau, surnamed Yan, on Friday again rejected a family-appointed lawyer’s request to meet his 17-year-old client Liu Tsz-man, one of those detained.
Lawyers make joint bid for access to 12 Hong Kong fugitives held on mainland
Under China’s Criminal Law, people arrested for illegal crossing face a maximum of one year in prison.
Those convicted of organising others to do so can be sentenced to as many as seven years in jail.
For those with a principal role in the operation of a syndicate running illegal border crossings, or who violently resist law enforcement, the penalty can be life in prison.
