A Hong Kong judge on Tuesday granted police access to the contents of two phones belonging to Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, in the name of national security. He argued that they are not protected by his status as a journalist.
Mr Lai, the boss of the now-shutdown Apple Daily tabloid, is soon to stand trial for ‘collusion with foreign forces’, an offense punishable by life in prison under the national security law imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong in 2020.
Two cellphones were seized during Mr. Lai’s arrest and search of the newspaper’s editorial office, which was forced to close last year after authorities froze its assets under the Privacy Act. security.
Secret des sources
Mr. Lai’s lawyers invoked the fact that the content of these telephones was protected by the secrecy of sources linked to the journalistic profession, a principle recognized by Hong Kong case law, just like that which protects conversations between lawyers and their clients.
In July, police applied for a warrant so they could search those phones, citing national security reasons.
Wilson Chan, one of the High Court magistrates selected by the government to try national security cases, said on Tuesday that the police could search the phones of this press boss, including journalistic documents.
national security
“Freedom of the press simply does not equate to a blanket ban on seizing, producing or disclosing journalistic materials,” Chan wrote in his ruling.
According to him, the warrant covers all types of documents, including journalistic documents, as long as they contain or are likely to contain evidence of a national security offense.
Access suspended
However, he agreed to suspend, until next week, police access to the phones of this figure of the pro-democracy movement, currently in detention, in order to allow time for his lawyers to appeal to a higher court. .
At a hearing last week, Mr Lai’s lead lawyer, Philip Dykes, warned that the lack of safeguards for journalistic materials would have a chilling effect.
‘Confidential journalistic materials are an essential characteristic and the cornerstone of a healthy and efficient free press,’ pleaded Mr. Dykes in particular before the Court.
/ATS