Pro bono lawyer in the anti-extradition bill protests: I don't want to leave any detainee behind

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Translated from an article of the Ming Pao written by 莫坤菱
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Ever since the anti-extradition bill protests started, no one had slept well.

There are some pro bono lawyers that don't sleep well; moreover, they cannot sleep. Every weekend from the evening, starting from being called, they support the detained protesters. In 48 hours they try to bail them out; at that time the phone rings at anytime, making sleep impossible.

Olga Choi is one of them. A daughter of the 90s, she is rather young for an attorney. She describes, "My workload for the past month is not far from the sum of all workload in my whole life... still I don't want to miss the chance of helping every detainee. Compared to the people on the front who are risking criminal responsibility, my contributions to the movement are so few."

She represented Ms. Lui (alias), who accuses the police of searching her naked. That day at the #metoo rally when she was on stage, Olga was supporting her from behind.

When there is a lack of lawyers helping defendants on the frontline get bail, she volunteers herself to fill the gap. Travelling through different police stations, big and small, facing the various hurdles of the police, she believes that the police is obstructing the right of citizens to obtain legal counsel. "The police is the enforcer of the law; when they don't respect the law, or even bypass the law, and the government tolerates their actions, we lawyers become really angry."

For the past three months, she has been in contact with numerous protestors on the frontline. "[Protestors] have to pass through an ordeal just to get to see their lawyers. However, the first thing they say usually is not about themselves, but rather 'How are the comrades doing?' That brings me to the question: if they are already arrested, why do they care about others more than themselves?"

Every time she is reminded of this, she would willingly try to participate more in helping the protesters, whether it be attending press conferences or being a pro bono lawyer. "I am just a normal person, I too would get scared. I am not trying to be high-profile, but there are some things that are right, and I have to do it. Isn't this what a Hongkonger does?

Article 35 of the Basic Law states that "Hong Kong residents shall have the right to confidential legal advice, access to the courts, choice of lawyers for timely protection of their lawful rights and interests or for representation in the courts, and to judicial remedies."

Art. 28 of the aforementioned Law states that "The freedom of the person of Hong Kong residents shall be inviolable. No Hong Kong resident shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful arrest, detention or imprisonment. Arbitrary or unlawful search of the body of any resident or deprivation or restriction of the freedom of the person shall be prohibited. Torture of any resident or arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of the life of any resident shall be prohibited."

For Olga, this hard-earned profession, all those legal provisions that were memorised again and again, facing the situation of today, is for achieving justice for the ordinary Hongkonger.