Hong Kong’s top prosecutor denies protest charges are politically motivated, and insists police do not tell him what to do
- Director of Public Prosecutions David Leung says he is saddened by suggestion department is influenced by law enforcement
- But activist Joshua Wong calls comments ‘misleading and irresponsible’
Hong Kong’s top prosecutor has insisted his department is entirely independent and does not engage in political prosecutions, hitting back at suggestions he does what police tell him to do.
But, pro-democracy activist Joshua Wong Chi-fung called the claims misleading, and said the world had seen how the law had been “selectively enforced” over the past six months.
David Leung Cheuk-yin SC, the director of public prosecutions, hit back in the opening remarks of the Department of Justice’s annual report released on Thursday, and said he was saddened by such a suggestion.
It was Leung’s most elaborate public remarks since almost 1,000 defendants were charged in court during the recent civil unrest, although the report mainly focused on prosecutors’ work in 2018, long before the ongoing anti-government protests erupted in June.
Leung insisted the department’s role was to minister justice, and distanced his unit from law enforcement, including police officers accused of excessive use of force over the past six months.