After sentencing him to life in prison, High Court rejects ex-president’s application for release on bail. His supporters react to the decision protesting and pelting the courthouse with eggs.

Taipei (AsiaNews/Agencies) – The Taiwan High Court rejected former President Chen Shui-bian’s petition for release on bail, ruling instead to hold him for three more months.

After a hearing lasting more than four hours, a panel of three judges ordered that Chen be returned to jail, despite protests by dozens of his supporters, some of whom hurled eggs and bottled water at the court building and confronted court police.

High Court spokesman Wen Yao-yuan said the decision was based on the seriousness of the sentence and the possibility the offender might flee or taint evidence in an upcoming trial on another charge of corruption.

On 11 September, the former Taiwanese president was convicted on six criminal counts and sentenced to life imprisonment.

For some experts, Chen held high hopes for release since two of three judges on the panel had been advocates of defendants’ human rights.  

His line of defence raised eyebrows however, when on Wednesday he filed a lawsuit claiming that the United States had jurisdiction over Taiwan, which at the time of Japan’s surrender in 1945, was part of the Japanese Empire.

Earlier Chen had offered to submit to house arrest, confiscation of his passport and monitoring by electronic device in exchange for his release. The judges simply told him to prepare his proposal for the next bail hearing.

Chen has been in custody since 30 December. He continues to claim his innocence, arguing that he is the victim of a political conspiracy orchestrated by Beijing.

After his conviction, he was expelled from his party.

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