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Hong Kong — Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy erstwhile Hong Kong media mogul and outspoken professional of Beijing, was convicted successful a landmark nationalist information proceedings successful the city's tribunal connected Monday, which could nonstop him to situation for the remainder of his life.
Three government-vetted judges recovered Lai, 78, blameworthy of conspiring with others to collude with overseas forces to endanger nationalist information and conspiracy to people seditious articles. He pleaded not blameworthy to each charges.
Then-media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying is detained successful Hong Kong connected August 10, 2020.
TYRONE SIU / REUTERS
Lai was arrested successful August 2020 nether a Beijing-imposed nationalist information instrumentality that was implemented pursuing monolithic anti-government protests successful 2019. During his 5 years successful custody, overmuch of it successful solitary confinement, Lai has been convicted of respective lesser offenses and appears to person grown much frail and thinner.
Lai's trial, conducted without a jury, has been intimately monitored by the U.S., Britain, the European Union and governmental observers arsenic a barometer of media state and judicial independency successful the erstwhile British colony, which returned to Chinese regularisation successful 1997.
Reading from an 855-page verdict, Judge Esther Toh said that Lai had extended a "constant invitation" to the U.S. to assistance bring down the Chinese authorities with the excuse of helping Hong Kongers.
Lai's lawyers admitted during the proceedings that helium had called for sanctions earlier the instrumentality took effect, but insisted helium dropped these calls to comply with the law.
But the judges ruled that Lai had ne'er wavered successful his volition to destabilize the ruling Chinese Communist Party, "continuing though successful a little explicit way."
A situation van believed to beryllium carrying Jimmy Lai, leaves the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts gathering aft the verdict successful the nationalist information collusion proceedings of Jimmy Lai, laminitis of the now-defunct pro-democracy paper Apple Daily, successful Hong Kong, China, connected Dec. 15, 2025.
Lam Yik / REUTERS
Toh said the tribunal was satisfied that Lai was the mastermind of the conspiracies and that Lai's grounds was astatine times contradictory and unreliable. The judges ruled that the lone tenable inference from the grounds was that Lai's lone intent, some earlier and aft the information law, was to question the downfall of the ruling Communist Party adjacent astatine the sacrifice of the radical of China and Hong Kong.
"This was the eventual purpose of the conspiracies and secessionist publications," they wrote.
Among the attendees were Lai's woman and son, and Hong Kong's Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen. Lai pressed his lips and nodded to his household earlier being escorted retired of the courtroom by guards.
His verdict is besides a trial for Beijing's diplomatic ties. U.S. President Donald Trump said helium has raised the lawsuit with China, and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said his authorities has made it a precedence to unafraid the merchandise of Lai, who is simply a British citizen.
The laminitis of the now-defunct pro-democracy paper Apple Daily volition beryllium sentenced connected a aboriginal day.
The collusion complaint carries a maximum punishment of beingness imprisonment. Hearings were acceptable to statesman Jan. 12 for Lai and different defendants successful the lawsuit to reason for a shorter sentence.
The Apple Daily, a vocal professional of the Hong Kong authorities and Beijing, was forced to unopen successful 2021 aft constabulary raided its newsroom and arrested its elder journalists, with authorities freezing its assets.
During Lai's 156-day trial, prosecutors accused him of conspiring with elder executives of Apple Daily and others to petition overseas forces to enforce sanctions oregon blockades and prosecute successful different hostile activities against Hong Kong oregon China.
The prosecution besides accused Lai of making specified requests, highlighting his meetings with erstwhile U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and erstwhile Secretary of State Mike Pompeo successful July 2019 astatine the tallness of the protests.
It besides presented 161 publications, including Apple Daily articles, to the tribunal arsenic evidence, arsenic good arsenic societal media posts and substance messages.
Lai testified for 52 days successful his ain defense, arguing that helium had not called for overseas sanctions aft the sweeping information instrumentality was imposed successful June 2020.
His ineligible squad besides argued for state of expression.
As the proceedings progressed, Lai's wellness appeared to beryllium deteriorating.
Lai's lawyers successful August told the tribunal that helium suffered from bosom palpitations. After the verdict, lawyer, Robert Pang, said his lawsuit is successful good spirits arsenic the ineligible squad studies the verdict.
Before the verdict, his girl Claire told The Associated Press that her begetter has go weaker and mislaid immoderate of his nails and teeth. She besides said helium suffered from infections for months, on with changeless backmost pain, diabetes, bosom issues and precocious humor pressure.
"His tone is beardown but his assemblage is failing," she said.
Hong Kong's authorities said nary abnormalities were recovered during a aesculapian introspection that followed Lai's ailment of bosom problems. It added this period that the aesculapian services provided to him were adequate.
Hong Kong person John Lee said Lai harmed the cardinal interests of the country, calling his intentions malicious.
Steve Li, main superintendent of Hong Kong police's National Security Department, disputed claims of Lai's worsening wellness extracurricular the tribunal building.
"Lai's condemnation is justness served," helium told reporters.
In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said China expressed steadfast absorption to the vilification of the city's judiciary by "certain countries," urging those countries to respect the city's ineligible system.
Before sunrise, dozens of residents queued extracurricular the tribunal gathering to unafraid a courtroom seat.
Former Apple Daily worker Tammy Cheung arrived astatine 5 a.m., saying she wanted to cognize astir Lai's information aft reports of his health.
She said she felt the process was being rushed since the verdict day was announced lone past Friday, but added, "I'm relieved that this lawsuit tin astatine slightest reason soon."
Rights groups, including planetary media watchdog Reporters Without Borders and Amnesty International, criticized the verdict.
"It is not an idiosyncratic who has been connected proceedings - it is property state itself, and with this verdict that has been shattered," said Reporters Without Borders' manager wide Thibaut Bruttin.
In 2022, Lai was sentenced to 5 years and 9 months successful situation implicit abstracted fraud charges involving lease violations, successful summation to different cases related to the 2019 protests.
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