Non-jury trial ordered for Hong Kong’s largest national security case

The documents seen by AFP showed preparatory hearings for the trial would be conducted before a panel of three judges in an open court in September and November.

AFP has asked Hong Kong’s Department of Justice for comment.

The trial is the second national security case to be handled without a jury in Hong Kong.

In the first last year, motorcyclist Tong Ying-kit was sentenced to nine years in jail after losing a judicial challenge against the non-jury arrangement.

Trial by jury has been described by the justice department as one of the Hong Kong judiciary’s “most important features”.

But a national security law imposed in 2020 states that a jury can be excluded if there is a need to protect state secrets or the safety of jurors and their families, as well as if “foreign forces” are involved.

The 47 defendants in the present case are political figures ranging from modest reformists to radical localists.

Their case was first brought to court in March last year when most of the group were denied bail after a marathon four-day hearing before a security magistrate.

Journalists have been prevented from reporting on most of the pre-trial hearings.