The hearing to determine whether an article written by blogger Alex Au is in contempt of court will be open to the public and he will have every opportunity to rebut the charge against him, said the Attorney General's Chambers in a statement on Thursday.
Mr Au had written an article on his blog, Yawning Bread, which the AGC said "contains allegations of wrongdoing by senior judicial officials". After the AGC was granted permission by the High Court to take legal action against Mr Au, some 170 civil activists, academics and artists signed an online statement of support for Mr Au, citing the constitutional right to freedom of expression.
Responding to media queries about the statement of support, the AGC said: "The constitutional right to free speech and expression is not an absolute right, but is subject to limits which are expressly provided for in the constitution.
"As important as the right to free speech and expression is, the Constitution recognises that our society as a whole must be safeguarded against statements without basis which injure the reputation of persons or lower confidence in the administration of justice."
