Hong Kong legal experts and political heavyweights said on Sunday it is “misleading” and factually unfounded for United States politicians to describe the 12 fugitives arrested while fleeing the city as “democracy activists”. 

The experts said the fugitives detained by mainland authority are guaranteed due process of law and of having their rights protected. 

In August, the Hong Kong fugitives were detained by the mainland coast guards as they tried to flee the city by a speedboat to Taiwan. The group included Andy Li Yu-hin, who was arrested on suspicion of violating the National Security Law. 

The Shenzhen Public Security Bureau’s Yantian Branch announced on Sunday that the Hong Kong men were arrested on suspicion of illegally crossing the border. The case is under investigation and the legal rights of the suspects will be protected, according to the statement. 

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Former Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying wrote on a social media post that it is “extremely misleading” to call the detainees “democracy activists” as they were charged with serious offenses

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in a statement on Friday, claimed that the US government is deeply concerned as the detainees “have been denied access to lawyers of their choice”. On Saturday, Morgan Ortagus, a spokesperson for the US Department of State, wrote on her Twitter account that the detainment is a sign of “the deterioration of human rights in Hong Kong”. 

On the same day, former Hong Kong chief executive Leung Chun-ying wrote on a social media post that it is “extremely misleading” to call the detainees “democracy activists” as they were charged with serious offenses — three of them in connection with the seizure of homemade bombs left outside Wah Yan College in December, two were involved in rioting, and one was arrested on suspicion of breaching the National Security Law. “More importantly, these suspects have deliberately planned to jump bail and abscond in an unlawful manner,” Leung said. 

Barrister Lawrence Ma Yan-kwok, who is also the chairman of the Hong Kong Legal Exchange Foundation, also said such accusations from US politicians are ill-founded as these individuals are absconders who have “blatantly violated” Hong Kong laws.

These men have abused their bail privilege granted by courts, Ma said. 

“Ironically speaking, if the amendments to the extradition laws were passed in the special administrative region back in 2019, then there would have been a firm legal basis to extradite the 12 men back to the city,” Ma said. 

Law professor Willy Fu Kin-chi, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Legal Exchange Foundation said it is untrue to claim that the detainees were denied access to lawyers of their choice. Government-appointed attorneys on the mainland bear a resemblance to the legal aid service granted to defendants in Hong Kong, he added. 

Fu also pointed out that since this case could be linked to a largescale illegal immigration crime organized by snakeheads, it is “necessary” for the mainland law enforcement authorities to conduct an indepth investigation. Hence, the current legal proceedings of the men will be held in a reasonable time frame, Fu said. 

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On Saturday, an Immigration Department spokesperson said their staff were assisting in the case and were in regular contact with the families of the detainees. The HKSAR government’s office in Guangdong had “learned from the authorities that the Hong Kong people are currently in good physical condition and have hired representatives from mainland lawyers”.