Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai convicted in landmark national security trial

Hong Kongg — Jimmy Lai, former Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul and outspoken critic of Beijing, convicted in trial historic national security trial in city court Monday, which could send him to prison for the rest of his life.

Three government-approved judges found Lai, 78, guilty of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiring to publish seditious articles. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Lai was arrested in August 2020 under a National security law imposed by Beijing which was implemented following massive anti-government protests in 2019. During his five years of detentionmostly in solitary confinement, Lai has been convicted of several minor crimes and appears to have become more frail and thinner.

Lai’s trial, conducted without a jury, was closely watched by the United States, Britain, the European Union and political observers as a barometer of media freedom and judicial independence in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Reading an 855-page verdict, Justice Esther Toh said Lai had issued a “constant invitation” to the United States to help overthrow the Chinese government under the pretext of helping Hong Kong people.

Lai’s lawyers admitted during the trial that he had sought sanctions before the law took effect, but insisted he abandoned those appeals to comply with the law.

But the judges ruled that Lai never wavered in his intent to destabilize China’s ruling Communist Party, “continuing, albeit less explicitly.”

Toh said the court was satisfied that Lai was the mastermind of the plots and that Lai’s evidence was at times contradictory and unreliable. The judges ruled that the only reasonable conclusion from the evidence was that Lai’s sole intention, before and after the security law, was to seek to overthrow the ruling Communist Party, even at the cost of the sacrifice of the people of China and Hong Kong.

“This was the ultimate goal of the secessionist conspiracies and publications,” they write.

Attendees included Lai’s wife and son, as well as Hong Kong Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen. Lai pursed his lips and nodded to his family before being escorted out of the courtroom by guards.

His verdict also constitutes a test for Beijing’s diplomatic relations. President Trump said he had raised the matter with China, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his government had made the release of Lai, a British citizen, a priority.

The founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily will be sentenced at a later date.

The collusion charge carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. Hearings were scheduled to begin on January 12 to allow Lai and other defendants to argue for a shorter sentence.

The Apple Daily, a vocal critic of the Hong Kong and Beijing government, was forced to close its doors in 2021 after police raided its newsroom and arrested its senior journalists, with authorities freezing its assets.

During Lai’s 156-day trial, prosecutors accused him of conspiring with top Apple Daily executives and others to direct foreign forces to impose sanctions or blockades and engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong or China.

The prosecution also accused Lai of making such demands, pointing to his meetings with former Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in July 2019, at the height of the protests.

He also presented the court with 161 posts, including articles from Apple Daily, as evidence, as well as social media posts and text messages.

Lai testified for 52 days in his own defense, arguing that he did not call for foreign sanctions after the imposition of the sweeping security law in June 2020.

His legal team also advocated for freedom of expression.

As the trial progressed, Lai’s health appeared to deteriorate.

In August, Lai’s lawyers told the court he was suffering from heart palpitations. After the verdict, lawyer Robert Pang said his client was in good spirits as the legal team studied the verdict.

Before the verdict, his daughter Claire told The Associated Press that her father had become weaker and had lost some of his nails and teeth. She also said he had been suffering from infections for months, as well as constant back pain, diabetes, heart problems and high blood pressure.

“His mind is strong but his body is failing,” she said.

The Hong Kong government said no abnormalities were found in the medical examination that followed Lai’s complaint of heart problems. He added this month that the medical services provided to him were adequate.

Hong Kong leader John Lee said Lai had damaged the country’s core interests, calling his intentions malicious.

Steve Li, chief superintendent of the Hong Kong police’s National Security Department, disputed allegations that Lai’s health was deteriorating outside court.

“Lai’s conviction is justice served,” he told reporters.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Guo Jiakun said China had expressed firm opposition to the defamation of the city’s legal system by “some countries,” urging those countries to respect the city’s legal system.

Before sunrise, dozens of residents lined up outside the courthouse to get a seat in the courtroom.

Tammy Cheung, a former Apple Daily employee, arrived at 5 a.m., saying she wanted to know more about Lai’s condition after reports about his health.

She said she felt the process was rushed since the verdict date was only announced last Friday, but added: “I am relieved that this case can at least conclude soon.”

Rights groups including Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International criticized the verdict.

“It is not an individual who is being judged, it is the freedom of the press itself, and with this verdict that is shattered,” declared Thibaut Bruttin, director general of Reporters Without Borders.

In 2022, Lai was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison on separate fraud charges involving lease violations, in addition to other cases related to the 2019 protests.