Court and detention files reopened in Hong Kong, Pakistan and Togo
Hong Kong convicted two Tiananmen vigil organisers; Pakistan moved Imran Khan to hospital under court order; and Togo charged two French journalists despite their permits.
Geopolitics··Midday
The Hong Kong case turned the 2021 arrests into convictions
A Hong Kong court found Lee Cheuk-yan and Chow Hang-tung, organisers of the Tiananmen vigils, guilty of inciting subversion under the national security law. Al Jazeera reports that the two figures, aged 69 and 41, were charged in 2021, pleaded not guilty, and now each face up to 10 years in prison. The Victoria Park vigil was, for 30 years, the only large-scale public commemoration inside China of those killed in the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown. No sentencing date has yet been set. Mark Clifford of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation and Human Rights Watch Asia director Elaine Pearson described the case as another sign of Beijing’s unease with that memory.[1]
Imran Khan was moved to hospital as the health dispute escalated
Pakistan’s former prime minister Imran Khan was moved from Adiala jail in Rawalpindi to Islamabad’s International Shifa hospital on supreme court orders after weeks of argument about his worsening health. According to The Guardian, party spokesperson Zulfikar Bukhari said the next phase must include not only immediate treatment but also independent medical oversight, access to qualified specialists, respect for family and legal rights, and full transparency. Hundreds of security personnel were posted around the hospital. The case crossed into a new phase when the government had to comply with an order issued by a three-judge supreme court panel.[2]
Togo still charged two journalists who had visas and filming approval
Togo charged two French journalists with false declarations after they were detained on July 27 while filming a documentary in Kara. The BBC reports that Gaël Mocaër and Sebastian Perez Pezzani held work visas and filming authorisation, and the production company said they had complied with all administrative rules. Their Togolese fixer, Fred Vedomey, is also detained. Reporters Without Borders said Pezzani has serious health problems requiring immediate treatment. France’s foreign ministry confirmed the detention and said officials had visited the pair three times, while Togolese authorities did not comment.[3]
