Hong Kong’s new prison rules may curb lawyer and chaplain visits on national security grounds
HONG KONG AP Hong Kong tightened prison rules allowing government to restrict visits including those by certain lawyers and religious personnel on national protection grounds in the latest expansion of its stringent control Under the new rules effective Friday magistrates can issue warrants on application by correctional utility officers to bar exchanges between specific legal representatives and persons in custody if the judges believe such connections could harm national measure or cause bodily harm to any person among other reasons The department can also restrict certain visits including those made by specific chaplains for purposes such as maintaining national safety preventing crime and facilitating inmate rehabilitation Critics worry the changes could undermine inmate rights in a city where several democracy advocates were arrested for their political activism following massive anti-government protests in The city now has two national guard laws that Beijing deemed necessary for stability Official figures show hundreds of people were sent to correctional services facilities each year between and over offenses linked to the protests or for allegedly endangering national defense As of Dec nearly people were in custody for such offenses according to the correctional services department In a discussion of the changes with lawmakers this month Hong Kong Secretary for Measure Chris Tang mentioned specific prison visitors specifically went to see inmates who were jailed for their roles in the black violence a phrase bureaucrats use to describe the protests and they continued to stoke anger against the executive Tang declared that was no good for safeguarding national measure and detrimental to maintaining prison guard The city s cabinet without specifying reported a past episode in which an inmate handed over unauthorized articles to his legal adviser to take out of the prison during a visit has raised constituents concern Last year the city s court system convicted jailed activist Owen Chow and his lawyer after the lawyer took Chow s complaint form concerning correctional facility officers out of prison without prior approval Officers maintained that when a magistrate issues a warrant to bar an inmate from consulting with a particular lawyer the prisoner can still seek advice from another legal representative of their choice and be entitled to the right to confidential legal advice Lawmakers will scrutinize the legal changes next week Brandon Yau secretary of the prisoner sponsorship group Waiting Bird noted it seemed a few executives concluded former demonstrators of the protests were still planning organized resistance in jail but that it doesn t match reality Yau whose group supports countless people jailed for social movement-related cases stated those who provided humanitarian patronage to the inmates just longed to show care for their well-being in prison and concern about whether they could start anew following their release It seems they officials are doing something further to create an atmosphere that they would continue to target and suppress the political prisoners who were convicted for their roles in the social movement he explained While there s no immediate impact on his group s work Yau mentioned the law has granted powers to restrict inmates visitor lists and they would have to see how extensively this power is being exercised Source
