Hong Kong’s new prison rules may curb lawyer and chaplain visits on national security grounds

HONG KONG AP Hong Kong tightened prison rules allowing administration to restrict visits including those by certain lawyers and religious personnel on national protection grounds in the latest expansion of its stringent control Under the new rules effective Friday magistrates can issue warrants on application by correctional provision officers to bar exchanges between specific legal representatives and persons in custody if the judges believe such connections could harm national guard or cause bodily harm to any person among other reasons The department can also restrict certain visits including those made by specific chaplains for purposes such as maintaining national precaution preventing crime and facilitating inmate rehabilitation Critics worry the changes could undermine inmate rights in a city where various democracy advocates were arrested for their political activism following massive anti-government protests in The city now has two national assurance laws that Beijing deemed necessary for stability Official facts show hundreds of people were sent to correctional services facilities each year between and over offenses linked to the protests or for allegedly endangering national safeguard As of Dec nearly people were in custody for such offenses according to the correctional services department In a discussion of the changes with lawmakers this month Hong Kong Secretary for Precaution Chris Tang mentioned particular prison visitors specifically went to see inmates who were jailed for their roles in the black violence a phrase agents use to describe the protests and they continued to stoke anger against the administration Tang explained that was no good for safeguarding national safety and detrimental to maintaining prison prevention The city s ruling body without specifying mentioned a past occurrence in which an inmate handed over unauthorized articles to his legal adviser to take out of the prison during a visit has raised masses concern Last year the city s court system convicted jailed activist Owen Chow and his lawyer after the lawyer took Chow s complaint form concerning correctional utility officers out of prison without prior approval Officers maintained that when a magistrate issues a warrant to bar an inmate from consulting with a particular lawyer the prisoner can still seek advice from another legal representative of their choice and be entitled to the right to confidential legal advice Lawmakers will scrutinize the legal changes next week Brandon Yau secretary of the prisoner backing group Waiting Bird commented it seemed various executives considered former demonstrators of the protests were still planning organized resistance in jail but that it doesn t match reality Yau whose group supports multiple people jailed for social movement-related cases reported those who provided humanitarian patronage to the inmates just wished to show care for their well-being in prison and concern about whether they could start anew following their release It seems they executives are doing something further to create an atmosphere that they would continue to target and suppress the political prisoners who were convicted for their roles in the social movement he declared While there s no immediate impact on his group s work Yau stated the law has granted powers to restrict inmates visitor lists and they would have to see how extensively this power is being exercised Source