HK Lawyers Rally In 'silent Scream For Justice'

Thousands of lawyers on Wednesday marched in silence calling for neutrality in prosecution decisions and an independent inquiry into events surrounding the extradition bill controversy.

It's the second silent march by the legal professionals in just over a month – and only the sixth such protest since the 1997 handover – and was described by Senior Counsel Denis Chang as a "silent scream" for justice.

The lawyers marched from the Court of Final Appeal to the Department of Justice offices at Justice Place, where they waited in vain for an hour to speak to Secretary for Justice Teresa Cheng.

"We’re here to demand a face-to-face meeting with the Secretary for Justice and Director of Public Prosecutions. We are going to say no to political prosecutions,” said lawyer and lawmaker Dennis Kwok.

Kwok said the legal profession has a duty to call questionable decisions out, to make sure the Hong Kong public can be certain that prosecutions are free of political considerations.

Speaking to the marchers, former legal sector lawmaker Margaret Ng said: "One of the most important things about the rule of law is that a prosecution must not be abused ... if abused, it is the most powerful instrument of oppression."

Organisers said more than 3,000 members of the legal profession took part in the silent march.

Selma Masood, a lawyer who has been dedicating her time to helping young people who have been arrested in recent weeks, said many of her colleagues could not attend the rally as they were at different police stations spread across the city, helping protesters.

It’s heartbreaking to see good children fighting for their future going through this while nothing has been done to the hundreds of thugs who beat up civilians in Yuen Long, Masood said.

In response to the march, the Department of Justice issued a statement saying its prosecutors always handle all their work in a fair and impartial manner.

"The DoJ will not handle the cases differently due to the political beliefs or background of the persons involved", the statement said.