A government lawyer says peaceful rallies held without police authorization must be prosecuted, or else the law will become toothless and the public will be encouraged to ignore it.

Senior counsel Benjamin Yu said the case against nine major pro-democracy figures in Hong Kong — including Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai — is based on evidence and not directed against the defendants, and did not involve political considerations.

Police authorization had been given for a pro-democracy rally at Victoria Park on Aug. 18, 2019, but participants were banned from marching beyond the park.

Audrey Eu, the lawyer representing Jimmy Lai, told the court that the police had not taken action against the crowd when they moved outside the park, reflecting instructions to maintain a tolerant and flexible approach. But she said the decision to prosecute the activists was made eight months later, and the court should consider the “chilling effect” this would create.

District Court judge Amanda Jane Woodcock said there was no evidence that prosecutors had originally decided against pressing charges against the defendants. Eu explained that she was referring to the guidelines given to police officers on the day that allowed the participants to continue, only to prosecute them later.

Prosecutor Yu said that this ignored the fact that the effect of the law is to protect society, and if it was allowed to become toothless, this would encourage citizens to break the law and hold protest marches without informing the police or ignoring police objections.

Among the nine defendants in the case, Au Nok-hin and Leung Yiu-chung have pleaded guilty. The remaining seven defendants who proceeded to trial are Martin Lee, Jimmy Lai, Lee Cheuk-yan, Margaret Ng, “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung, Cyd Ho and Albert Ho. Each was charged with organizing an unauthorized assembly and knowingly taking part in an unauthorized assembly.

Closing submissions are continuing this week, with a ruling expected to be handed down on April 1.

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