Justice Abroad Acts for Beijing Olympic Flame Protestors
Justice Abroad Acts for Beijing Olympic Flame Protestors
JUSTICE ABROAD
“Here When You Need Us”
Justice Abroad is acting in the two cases concerning activists who protested the Olympic flame lighting ceremonies at Olympia and the Acropolis in relation to Beijing’s ongoing genocide against the Uyghurs, the suppression of freedoms in Hong Kong, and the ongoing oppression of the Tibetan people.
Justice Abroad’s Michael Polak is instructed to assist in the representation of the three Olympia protestors and three Acropolis protestors who have were arrested and detained in October 2021 and now face charges for their non-violent protests. He is working on this case with Greek lawyer, Alexis Antagnostakis,
The Acropolis case has been postponed due to a recent storm in Greece however the Olympia case will take place on 3 February 2022 at Pyrgos Courthouse, on the eve of the opening ceremony for the Beijing 2022 Olympics. The Beijing games have been widely criticised for providing a propaganda platform to the Chinese regime whilst it commits international crimes to minority groups within China and suppresses essential freedoms in Hong Kong.
On 17 October 2021, activists Tsela Zoksang, Joey Siu, and Van Pham hung a Tibetan flag and a flag in support of freedom in Hong Kong on some scaffolding while chanting “Boycott Beijing 2022” and “Free Tibet.” The Greek authorities confiscated their flags and detained them, and they were kept overnight in a cell.
The following day on 18 October 2021, Chemi Lhamo, joined by American and British human rights activists, protested during the Olympic Torch Lighting Ceremony in Olympia. The activists shouted slogans and held a banner reading “No Genocide Games” as well as waving a Tibetan flag. The three protesters were tackled to the ground by security and were detained and held in prison for 2 days in Pyrgos before being released pending their trial.
The activists have been charged with attempting to “pollute, damage, and distort” a historical monument, a charge punishable by up to five years imprisonment under Greek law. The trial for the 3 arrested on 17 October 2021 has been postponed however the three activists arrested on 18 October 2021 will stand trial on Thursday 3 February 2022 at Pyrgos Courthouse.
Justice Abroad’s Michael Polak stated that ‘The activists, in this case, asked how Beijing can be allowed to use the Olympics and its symbols for propaganda purposes whilst genocide and crimes against humanity take place against the Uyghur people, whilst the intense repression against Tibetans continues unabated, and whilst the destruction of freedoms in Hong Kong takes place before our eyes. Many around the world will be asking the same questions. The European Court of Human Rights takes a very strict view of attempts to restrict the important right to freedom of assembly, expression, and thought and conscience. It has stated that ‘Interfering with peaceful assemblies, save where there has been incitement to violence or a threat to democratic principles, does a disservice to democracy and even endangers it (Faber v Hungary). The charging of the activists with an obscure offence that does not meet the facts of what took place is a clear breach of their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights and the principle that any limitation of these rights must be prescribed by law.’
A press release from Students for a Free Tibet can be found here –
Any request for comment from Michael Polak or for interviews with the activists can be made by email contact@justiceabroad.co.uk or phone on +44 (0)203 488 2316
Notes to Editors
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