Hong Kong court rules police can search jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai phones

HONG KONG: Two phones owned by jailed pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai can be searched on national security grounds and are not protected by journalistic privilege, a senior judge ruled Tuesday in Hong Kong.

Lai, owner of the now-shuttered Apple Daily tabloid, will face a trial for collusion with foreign forces, an offense that could carry up to life in prison under the sweeping national security law Beijing imposed on Hong Kong two years ago.

Two smartphones were seized when hundreds of police officers arrested Lai and raided the newsroom of Apple Daily, which collapsed after its assets were frozen under the security law.

Lai's legal team claimed that the content of the phones was covered by journalistic privilege, which is recognised by case law in Hong Kong, as well as legal privilege that protects conversations between lawyers and their clients.

Last month, the police applied for a warrant to search the phones under the national security law.

Wilson Chan, one of the High Court judges handpicked by the government to try security cases, ruled on Tuesday that police could search Lai's phones, including journalistic materials. He excluded content covered by legal privilege.

Press freedom does not mean a blanket prohibition against the seizure, production or disclosure of journalistic materials Chan wrote in his judgement.

Chan ruled the warrant covers all types of materials, as long as they contain or are likely to contain evidence of a national security offence, including journalistic materials.