Today, Hong Kong’s High Court handed down a ruling against Chow Hang Tung, finding that the current prison policy is constitutional, despite its differential treatment of male and female inmates.
In response, Fernado Cheung, the spokesperson of Amnesty Hong Kong Overseas Section said:
“Despite being held in unjust detention for 52 months simply for exercising her right to freedom of expression, Chow Hang Tong’s courage—whether on the outside or behind bars—remains unwavering.”
“From lifting reporting restrictions on bail hearings to challenging limits on the books prisoners are allowed to read and the clothes they are allowed to wear, Chow continues to fight for human rights at every level.”
“All individuals are equal before the law. It is unlawful for the government to impose treatment discriminating on the basis of gender when prison conditions are the same for both male and female inmates.”
“Denying female inmates the opportunity to wear shorts in extremely high temperatures during the summer is neither humane nor respectful of their inherent dignity.”
“Today’s disappointing ruling comes against the backdrop of a broader deterioration in detention conditions in Hong Kong, where last July’s amendments to prison regulations have severely undermined detainees’ rights to access legal counsel and visits on proclaimed national security grounds.”
Background
Chow Hang-tung is a Hong Kong human rights lawyer and former vice-chairperson of the now-disbanded Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China (the “Alliance”).
In September 2021, the Alliance and its former chair and vice-chairs — Lee Cheuk-yan, Chow Hang-tung, and Albert Ho — were charged with “inciting subversion of state power.” Both Lee and Chow have been repeatedly denied bail and have been held in pretrial detention for over 1,500 days.
In 2024, Chow filed a judicial review challenging the clothing policies in Hong Kong’s correctional facilities, where male prisoners are allowed to wear shorts during the summer while female prisoners are not, even when temperatures regularly exceed 30 degrees Celsius in summer.