Swiss photographer Marc Progin, a long-time resident of Hong Kong, got caught up in a legal nightmare after he covered a pro-democracy demonstration in 2019. Recently he received an adverse court decision. Press freedom advocacy groups say he is being persecuted. Progin, a freelance photographer, was twice tried by Hong Kong courts for “aiding and abetting public disorder”. Both trials ended in an acquittal. Now the 78-year-old retired businessman, who has lived in the former British colony for 46 years, has been denied reimbursement of his legal costs. Press freedom campaigners point to a “Kafkaesque situation” and have approached the authorities on the matter (see box below). Progin has said he is resigned to paying the HK$500,000 (CHF57,800) he is being billed, just to put an end to four years of legal pursuits. ‘In the wrong place at the wrong time’ It all began on October 4, 2019. Hong Kong witnessed one of several mass demonstrations against a reform bill which protesters...
