Statement on Recent Developments in the Trial of Jimmy Lai
![](https://cdn.prod.website-files.com/65ef9055a1ade465971b44d0/67ab1b40cf926f74b95710c5_JL%20(1).png)
We, the members of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance of China (IPAC), categorically reject the false claims regarding Jimmy Lai’s involvement with our network. On days 130-1 of his trial, Jimmy Lai was questioned repeatedly by the prosecution and the presiding Judges about his alleged connection to IPAC.
We are now seeking to set the record straight. Jimmy Lai had no involvement in the foundation or operations of IPAC. Like many other journalists and media outlets in Hong Kong at the time, Jimmy Lai and Apple Daily’s editors received press releases from IPAC, as did many other local publications, including pro-establishment outlets. Many reported on IPAC’s foundation as a legitimate matter of public interest.
IPAC has repeatedly offered the Hong Kong Department of Justice (HKDoJ) the opportunity to review evidence material to Mr. Lai’s charges, and which is in our possession alone. To date, they have failed to respond. Their silence on this issue highlights serious deficiencies in Hong Kong’s contemporary legal system.
Ongoing attempts to link Jimmy Lai to IPAC are part of a broader effort to portray him as having orchestrated criticism of the Hong Kong authorities at home and abroad. This narrative is false. IPAC would have been proud to work with Jimmy Lai as a consistent defender of democratic values, but the reality is that the relationship prosecutors are attempting to construct did not exist. We condemn this fabricated narrative, reiterate our offer to rebut it, and call for an end to all unjust politically motivated prosecutions.
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對中政策跨國議會聯盟(IPAC),現駁斥黎智英與本聯盟有關的虛假指控。在他審訊的第130至131天,控方及主審法官反覆盤問黎智英,試圖證明他與IPAC存在所謂的聯繫。
IPAC重申,黎智英從未參與IPAC的成立或運作。IPAC成立當時,香港許媒體、黎智英及《蘋果日報》編輯均曾收到IPAC新聞稿及相關資訊。由於這是符合公眾利益的新聞,當時許多媒體亦曾報道IPAC成立。
IPAC曾多次要求香港律政司,讓我們提供與該案相關的重要證據作為反駁。迄今為止,香港政府仍未作出回應,突顯了香港當代法律制度的嚴重缺陷。
香港政府不斷嘗試將黎智英與IPAC掛鉤,企圖羅織罪名,將他描繪成在本地及國際間策劃批評香港政府的幕後黑手。IPAC素來尊重黎智英堅守民主價值,假若有機會合作,我們亦與有榮焉。然而,控方試圖描述的這種關係屬子虛烏有。我們譴責香港政府的羅織構陷,並重申IPAC樂意提供證據反駁,呼籲停止一切不公義、出於政治動機的檢控。
Signatories:
Fatmir Mediu MP, Albania
Bardhyl Kollcaku MP, Albania
Senator Centa Rek, Bolivia
Dr. Sanela Klarić MP, Bosnia and Herzegovina
James Bezan MP, Canada
Professor Irwin Cotler, Canada
Garnett Genuis MP, Canada
Judy Sgro MP, Canada
Kevin Vuong MP, Canada
Sameer Zuberi MP, Canada
Rep. Hayato Okamura, Czechia
Senator Pavel Fischer, Czechia
Morten Messerschmidt MP, Denmark
Lukas Sieper MEP, European Parliament
Senator Olivier Cadic, France
Michael Brand MdB, Germany
Boris Mijatovic MdB, Germany
Malcolm Byrne TD, Ireland
Joash Nyamoko MP, Kenya
Žygimantas Pavilionis MP, Lithuania
Fatmir Bytyqi MP, North Macedonia
Rashela Mizrahi MP, North Macedonia
Jan Paternotte MP, The Netherlands
Tom van der Lee MP, The Netherlands
Senator Eduardo Nakayama, Paraguay
Senator Cristian Ghinea, Romania
Alexandru Muraru MP, Romania
Councilor Elisabet Lann, Sweden
Fan Yun MP, Taiwan
Lucy Akello MP, Uganda
Volodymyr Ariev MP, Ukraine
Yulia Klymenko MP, Ukraine
Mykola Kniazhytskyi MP, Ukraine
Oleksandr Merezhko MP, Ukraine
Oleksii Goncharenko MP, Ukraine
Lord Alton of Liverpool, United Kingdom
Phil Brickell MP, United Kingdom
Alex Barros-Curtis MP, United Kingdom
Sarah Champion MP, United Kingdom
Baroness Frances D’Souza, United Kingdom
Sir Iain Duncan Smith MP, United Kingdom
Baroness Kennedy of the Shaws KC, United Kingdom
Chris Law MP, United Kingdom
Blair McDougall MP, United Kingdom
Layla Moran MP, United Kingdom
Representative Eduardo Lust, Uruguay
Stewart McDonald, IPAC Alumni Council
Tim Loughton, IPAC Alumni Council