The conviction of an activist who attempted to organise a vigil in Tiananmen Square last year has been overturned by Hong Kong‘s highest court because police misconduct was discovered.
Attorney Chow Hang-tung, who was imprisoned in January, will continue to be held in custody as she is charged with two additional offences under the city’s national security law.
But on Wednesday, she was successful in appealing her “unauthorised assembly” conviction.
The police’s decision to forbid the vigil was ruled invalid by a judge.
Since 2020, Tiananmen vigils have been prohibited by Hong Kong authorities, who have cited COVID restrictions as the cause.
The city used to be one of the only sites on Chinese territory where authorities allowed tributes.
Ms Chow was arrested in June 2021 for “inciting” the public to take part in that year’s vigil. She had led the Hong Kong Alliance, a group which had organised the annual demonstrations and that year she posted articles on social media and on news sites urging Hong Kongers to turn out or light a candle in tribute.
At her trial in January this year, she was jailed for encouraging the assembly in breach of Covid laws.
Magistrate Amy Chan said she had been “self righteous” in “completely disregarding the law to think that the freedom of assembly was more important than public health”.
However a High Court judge on Wednesday found police had not properly explored the options for how the demonstration could have gone ahead in a Covid-safe manner.
Judge Judianna Barnes said police “did not seriously consider” other health measures, thus ignoring a requirement in the law that public meetings should not be banned if they can be safely facilitated.
The ruling could have legal implications for other Hong Kongers jailed for taking part in Tiananmen vigils. They include the pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai, who was sentenced to 13 months for the alleged offence a year ago. Mr Lai was jailed for nearly six years on fraud charges earlier this month and faces the prospect of life behind bars due to a separate trial on national security charges, which is due to begin next September.
Ms Chow and other human rights advocates have long argued that Covid restrictions were just an excuse for Hong Kong authorities to ban commemorations of the Tiananmen protests – a heavily censored and highly sensitive topic in mainland China.
In previous years thousands of people gathered to remember the victims of the crackdown on 4 June 1989, when the Chinese military attacked pro-democracy protesters camped in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square, killing an unknown number of civilians.
However China has asserted its rule over Hong Kong since major protests in 2019 protesting against Beijing’s influence and the rolling back of civil rights in the city.
Since then public commemoration of the Tiananmen protests has been targeted by the authorities. Last year monuments marking the event were removed from university campuses and a museum was also shut down.