Hong Kong protests: judge rejects bid by Jimmy Lai, six ex-opposition lawmakers in illegal assembly case to allow defence from British policing expert
- District Judge Amanda Woodcock concerned about impartiality of Keele University Professor Clifford Stott, who was briefly involved in inquiry into 2019 unrest
- Defence argues court should take into account his analysis on perceived police failure to implement crowd control measures on August 18 that year
A Hong Kong judge has rejected a request by media tycoon Jimmy Lai Chee-ying and six former opposition lawmakers to allow a British policing expert to defend them against accusations over an unauthorised rally in 2019.
Expressing concerns over the impartiality of the expert and whether his opinion was relevant to the trial, District Judge Amanda Woodcock turned down the last-minute application just before prosecutors opened their case against the seven on Wednesday.
The suspects were accused of holding an illegal march on Hong Kong Island under the guise of a so-called water-flow assembly – a space management method – to circumvent a police ban on the protest on August 18, 2019.
Defence counsels argued the court should take into account the analysis of Professor Clifford Stott on perceived police failure to implement crowd control measures that day, in deciding whether the defendants had a reasonable excuse for their actions.
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But Woodcock expressed reservations as to whether the Keele University expert, who was briefly involved in an inquiry into the anti-government protests in 2019, could provide independent and impartial opinions on the police handling of the demonstration in question, pointing to sharp criticism of the force that he had made in media interviews.
