A former Hong Kong protester has lodged a judicial challenge against prison authorities’ decision to bar him from studying law in the United Kingdom on national security grounds, even after he completed his prison sentence for offences committed during the 2019 anti-government unrest.
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To Kai-wa on Wednesday sought a judicial review after the Correctional Services Department forbade him from leaving Hong Kong during his post-release supervision by citing his failure to “demonstrate sincere remorse and reflection” or undergo “full rehabilitation and deradicalisation”.
To, a former paralegal, was jailed for 5½ years in 2021 over a string of assaults and disorderly conduct, including biting off a police sergeant’s fingertip during chaotic clashes at a Sha Tin shopping centre in July 2019.
The 28-year-old, who was not subject to a new legal restriction barring the early discharge of national security offenders, was released in October 2024 after serving two-thirds of his sentence.
But he was placed under 22-month supervision and ordered not to leave the city without the approval of the department’s supervision case review committee before the supervision period ended in August 2026.
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In January this year, the applicant asked for permission to travel after receiving a conditional offer to enrol in a law degree programme at the University of Birmingham.