When Justice Becomes Out of League: Asia in the Time of Pandemic

Heroes come in times of need. As frontliners bravely sacrifice themselves to save the COVID-19 victims, another league of heroes faces another form of pandemic.

Fhillip Sawali, chief of staff of the Office of Senator Leila de Lima, said that even before the COVID-19 outbreak, there has been a widespread contagion ravaging many political and legal systems across the globe. This has been dubbed by Philippine Senator de Lima as “the pandemic of lawfare”, which is the weaponization of the law against political dissenters, critics and activists.

On 21 May, representatives of CALD member parties convened to discuss the troubling political and legal situation confronting political party leaders and members, human rights lawyers, and political activists, among others, in a number of Asian countries and jurisdictions.

Martin Lee, founding chairperson of the Democratic Party of Hong Kong (DPHK), delivered the keynote address and shared the challenging situation in Hong Kong. He said, “Beijing wants to rule Hong Kong with an iron fist…(It) must trust the Hong Kong people, give the people democracy as promised, and not interfere in Hong Kong’s internal affairs to allow Hong Kong to remain prosperous and stable.”

Lee also warned that if human rights fails in one country, it can easily spread in other parts of the world.

On the situation in Cambodia, Mu Sochua, vice president of Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) and former chairperson of CALD Women’s Caucus, shared that her country’s justice system is under the total control of Prime Minister Hun Sen. She said that the CNRP is very concerned about the safety and lives of party members and supporters, independent journalists and activists whose voices are silenced through trumped up charges.

A Cambodian lawyer representing CNRP said that a number of the party’s members have been arrested by the authorities without warrants. As legal representatives, they are facing difficulties because the cases are political in nature.

Political crackdown by the Cambodian government is nothing new. In 2017, CNRP was dissolved and Kem Sokha, the party president, was unlawfully arrested and charged. His trial is currently put on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Moreover, the recently appointed Justice Minister of Cambodia was the legal expert who provided Hun Sen advice on political cases in particular amendments to the Political Parties Law that led to the dissolution of CNRP.

Sawali also shared the importance of alliance building, the timely exploration and use of regional and global political currents, high-impact initiatives, and the crucial interventions of the media team and legal defense panel, to elevate the awareness on political cases, similar to that of Senator de Lima.

Senator de Lima, the staunchest critic of President Duterte’s bloody campaign against illegal drugs, has been in detention since February 2017 on alleged drug charges.

In the end, the participants agreed to set up a regional alliance of lawyers and activists to provide a regional voice for those illegally prosecuted and persecuted by unfair justice and political systems in Asia. An online public forum was also suggested as a possible follow-up initiative.