British judge convicted of jailing Hong Kong free speech hero quits media freedom panel

A British judge who was convicted of upholding the verdict against democracy activist Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong has resigned from a high-level panel on press freedom.

David Neuberger, who receives a salary of £40,000 for his work abroad as a non-permanent judge of Hong Kong's High Court, has resigned from his position as chairman of the high-level panel of legal experts that advises the Media Freedom Coalition (MFC), an international non-governmental organisation.

His resignation comes just days after he voted to uphold a 14-month prison sentence for 76-year-old Beijing critic Lai, a British citizen.

Lord Neuberger said it was “undesirable” that his work as a foreign judge in Hong Kong would distract from the mission of the MFC – which has 51 countries as members – and resigned in a letter published on Thursday.

In the letter, Lord Neuberger said: “I have now come to the conclusion that I should leave now because it is undesirable that concentrating on my position as a non-permanent judge in Hong Kong should interfere with or distract from the important and effective work of the High Level Panel.”

“It has been an enormous privilege and pleasure to work with so many intelligent, dedicated and interesting people on such an important issue.”

Human rights groups, however, have strongly criticised the decision. “He puts the Hong Kong court above the freedom and integrity of the media. We do not welcome Lord Neuberger's resignation,” said Mark Sabah of the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Foundation. “It is absolutely astonishing that Lord Neuberger has chosen to stay in the Hong Kong courts and hear the appeals of British citizen Jimmy Lai and other pro-democracy activists rather than resign.”

On Monday, the former Supreme Court judge voted to uphold the conviction of Mr Lai, who supported anti-Beijing protests in 2019 and was imprisoned for four years amid the Beijing-led crackdown on protests.

Former Hong Kong Governor Chris Patten said The Independent on Tuesday that it was “obvious” that the case, which Lord Neuberger confirmed, was an “act of revenge” by the city-state's government. Mr Lai's son Sebastien said time was “not on our side” to save his father, especially given his age.

Mr Lai was detained in 2021 for taking part in a pro-democracy rally and faces life in prison on separate charges of endangering national security that Amnesty International describes as “politically motivated”.

Lord Neuberger said The Independent Earlier this week, he said he would not comment on the ruling in the Lai case because it “must speak for itself.” He had previously vowed to remain in office as a judge and said he would “support the rule of law as much as possible.”

The Independent has asked Lord Neuberger for comment on his resignation from the Media Freedom Coalition.

Since the mass pro-democracy protests in 2019, more than 1,800 political prisoners have been arrested in Hong Kong as part of rigorous measures.

Two British judges left the Court of Appeal in Hong Kong in June, warning that the territory was “slowly becoming a totalitarian state” in which the rule of law was “deeply at risk.”

At the heart of Mr Lai's appeal was the question of whether his conviction was proportionate to the fundamental human rights protections set out in two non-binding decisions of the UK Supreme Court, the so-called 'operative proportionality decisions'.

But Lord Neuberger's ruling states that the British court's decisions should not be implemented in Hong Kong because there are different legal frameworks for human rights violations in the two jurisdictions.

British judges have served on Hong Kong's Court of Appeal on a temporary basis since 1997, under an agreement reached when Britain returned the city to China. The judges have all retired from their British posts.