Hong Kong. Court rejects journalist appeal for police obstruction

Uthe court rejected on Saturday the request of the former president of the Hong Kong Journalist Association Ronson Chan to appeal against the conviction for police obstruction, for which he served five days in prison.

Hong Kong High Court judge Lily Wong refused to grant journalist Ronson Chan permission to appeal.

Chan attempted to overturn the conviction, resulting from an incident in September 2022, when he refused to present an identification to a police officer to the civilian while covering a meeting of the owner committee in Mong Kok.

He was found guilty in September 2023 and sentenced to five days in prison, although he was granted bail while awaiting appeal.

Still, the journalist served his time after losing, in May, the appeal, equally appreciated by Wong.

Chan's defense appealed again, arguing that the question of whether the law governing police action confers powers on agents to demand proof of identity is of great general importance.

Wong stated that the legislation “is unambiguous” and that the defence arguments ignore clear legal provisions.

“ Therefore, I do not believe that the argument put forward is a genuine legal argument. Even if it was, I think it is not reasonably defensible”, the judge argued in the judgment.

In spite of the decision, the former Chairman of the Association of Journalists may still apply for authorisation to appeal directly to the Appeal Committee of the Last Instance.

Chan, who led the association between 2021 and 2024, was approached by a police officer to the civilian who claimed a suspicious attitude to ask him for documentation and was arrested after refusing to identify himself, despite repeated warnings.

The Hong Kong Journalist Association expressed “deep regret” after Chan lost the appeal decided in May and had to serve a five-day prison sentence for these facts.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) expressed indignation at the journalist’s arrest.