Hong Kong’s corrections department has defended the use of private vehicles for the release of four former lawmakers who completed their jail terms for their involvement in an unofficial 2020 primary election.
The Correctional Services Department (CSD) told HKFP on Tuesday that it would “make appropriate arrangements” for the release of prisoners based on factors such as the security and order of the prison, as well as the privacy and safety of the person in custody.
“The Correctional Services Department handles matters concerning the custody and discharge of persons in custody strictly in accordance with the law,” the CSD wrote in an email to HKFP.
HKFP sent enquiries to the CSD shortly after former pro-democracy lawmakers Claudia Mo, Gary Fan, Jeremy Tam, and Kwok Ka-ki were released from prison early Tuesday morning.
Mo was released from the Lo Wu Correctional Institution, while Fan left Lantau’s Shek Pik Prison. Tam and Kwok were discharged from Stanley Prison.
The four were the first group of 45 democrats to be discharged from prison in the early morning of Tuesday after being sentenced in the city’s largest national security trial in November. The former legislators were jailed for four years and two months after pleading guilty to the charge of conspiracy to commit subversion.
Instead of walking out of prison as released detainees usually do, Mo, Fan, Tam, and Kwok left their respective detention facilities in seven-seater vehicles with curtains drawn.
Journalists at the scene were barred from following the cars as police set up cordons when the vehicles drove away.
Members of the press waited at the democrats’ homes, with local media outlet HK01 capturing Fan on video as he arrived at his residence in Tseung Kwan O. The ex-legislator said he was heading home to reunite with his family and thanked Hongkongers and the media for their concern.
Journalists also visited Mo’s home. Her husband, Philip Bowring, confirmed with reporters that Mo was inside the flat and resting, adding she was “well and in good spirits.”
Inside the living room of Mo’s home, there was a banner that read: “Welcome Home Mum.”
In a Facebook post on Tuesday, activist Figo Chan questioned why the democrats were escorted from prison to their homes, suggesting that this practice was unusual.
He said the same arrangement was made in January 2022, when independence activist Edward Leung was released from jail after being sentenced to six years for rioting in 2016.
“No one could witness it firsthand. This time, I really want to thank your media friends for waiting at various prisons from the early morning… allowing everyone to see it for themselves,” Chan wrote in Chinese.
Three handpicked national security judges ruled that the 45 democrats had planned to use their constitutional powers to veto the government budget, ultimately forcing the resignation of the chief executive and a government shutdown.
With Mo, Fan, Tam, and Kwok released, there are still 41 democrats serving time in prison for up to 10 years for the charge that evolved around an unofficial primary election held in July 2020.
The polls aimed to help the pro-democracy camp win a controlling majority in the legislature. This, the judges ruled, would have resulted in a “constitutional crisis.”
Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.
