Hong Kong’s Supreme Court on Monday found pro-democracy businessman and editor Jimmy Lai, 78, guilty of two counts of conspiring with foreign forces and one count of sedition related to the distribution of subversive material, which could result in a life sentence.
The verdict, announced amid great media excitement, ends a five-year trial, but the verdict will not be announced until next January.
During the reading, Judge Esther Toh saw it as proven that Lai had conspired with third parties to undermine national security and that the defendant had “hatred and resentment” against China.
The session at the West Kowloon Justice Complex took place amid extraordinary security and before an influx of public, media and Western diplomats, including from the United Kingdom, which has criticized the trial of Lai, who has British citizenship.
The newspaper editor AppleDailyImprisoned since 2020, 2021 saw the closure of his newspaper after a raid by 500 agents that led to the freezing of his assets and the arrest of part of his management.
Prosecutors accused the channel of publishing articles they said encouraged participation in pro-democracy protests against the extradition bill in 2019.
They also alleged that Lai acted as the “brains and economic support” of the Stand with Hong Kong group, which they attribute to international campaigns to pressure foreign governments and promote sanctions against local and Chinese authorities.
Prosecutors insisted Lai used his media platform to solicit international support and promote “organized hostility” against Hong Kong and Beijing.
The failure of this process, officially launched in December 2023 and marked by political tensions, is due to the importance of Lai, one of the most relevant since the entry into force of the National Security Law imposed by Beijing in 2020.
gs (efe, afp. reuters)
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