The High Court refused to adjourn the first national security case for judicial review against the government’s decision to hold trial without jury, as defendant Tong Ying-kit was brought to court on Tuesday for a pretrial hearing.

The case was handled by three national security judges Esther Toh, Anthea Pang and Wilson Chan.

Accused of riding a motorcycle carrying a protest slogan banner into police officers last July, Tong is the first defendant charged under Beijing’s national security law for Hong Kong. The 23-year-old was represented by Lawrence Lok SC and barrister Lawrence Lau, who is currently released on bail over subversion charge.

Tong’s trial on charges of incitement to secession and terrorism was scheduled in June. Lok on Tuesday applied for an adjournment of the hearing, as Tong has applied for a judicial review to challenge the Department of Justice’s decision to hold trial without a jury and has obtained legal aid.

But the request was declined by the judges.

Toh stressed that national security trials should be handled as soon as possible according to the law. Chan said it is way too early to adjourn the trial, as the judicial review process may not take long and can possibly be settled before the trial starts.

Lok then added that they did not receive an expert report from the prosecution until Monday and the defense needs time to gather another report in response.

The report, written by Lingnan University’s associate vice-president Lau Chi-pang, included the definition of the slogan “Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times” – which was written on a flag attached to Tong’s motorcycle.

Toh disagreed, saying it should not be too difficult for the defense to gather an expert report regarding the slogan.

The open court trial, to be held in English, will begin on June 23.

Click here for Chinese version

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play