Hong Kong national security law: lawyers file urgent bail application in bid to overturn ban on detained former party chief attending his father’s funeral
- Lawyers for Wu Chi-wai, in custody awaiting three trials, wanted to ask the Court of First Instance to hear the application on Thursday afternoon
- But hearing has been fixed at the High Court on Friday morning – hours before a memorial service for Wu’s late father is scheduled in the evening
Lawyers for the detained former leader of Hong Kong’s biggest opposition party have filed an urgent bail application in a last-ditch bid to get round a prison ruling barring the ex-lawmaker from attending his father’s funeral.
The Democratic Party’s Wu Chi-wai, who is remanded in custody ahead of three coming trials, was denied permission to pay his respects in person at Friday’s ceremony, with prison authorities offering to live-stream proceedings for him instead.
The 58-year-old former chairman of the party has been charged under the Beijing-imposed national security law and is also facing trials for two other criminal offences.
A bail hearing has been fixed for 9.30am at the High Court on Friday – just hours before the evening memorial service for Wu’s late 92-year-old father.
Earlier, lawyer Albert Ho Chun-yan, another ex-chairman of the party, said a legal team hired by the political outfit to represent Wu intended to ask Court of First Instance judge Esther Toh Lye-ping to hear the application on Thursday afternoon.
But the hearing was timetabled for the following day after the Department of Justice demanded more time to prepare for the case.
A second source said the party had also asked the Correctional Services Department once more to reconsider Wu’s case.
