Hong Kong finds media mogul Jimmy Lai guilty of conspiracy and sedition, faces life in prison

He Hong Kong Supreme Court said this Monday to the pro-democracy businessman and editor Jimmy Laï78 years old, guilty of two counts conspiracy with foreign forces and a crime of sedition linked to the dissemination of subversive material, which could result in a prison sentence life sentence.

The verdict, announced amid great media excitement, puts an end to a five-year legal process, even if the final sentence will not be known until next January.

During the reading, Justice Esther Toh – one of the three judges who make up the court – considered it proven that Lai conspired with third parties to undermine national security and that the accused harbors “hatred and resentment” against China. For many, this conviction marks the end of the democratic era in Hong Kong.

The session at the West Kowloon court complex took place under extraordinary security and in front of an influx of public, media and diplomats from Western countries, including The United Kingdom, which has criticized and considers the trial against Lai to be politically motivated, who has British nationality.

The editor-in-chief of the newspaper AppleDailyimprisoned since 2020, saw his newspaper closed in 2021 after a search involving 500 agents leading to the freezing of his assets and the arrest of part of his management.

Prosecutors accused the outlet, founded in 1995, of publishing articles that, according to the indictment,encouraged participation in pro-democracy protests against the extradition bill in 2019.

They also argued that Lai acted as the group’s “brains and financial backer.” Stand with Hong Kong, to which they attribute international campaigns to pressure foreign governments and promote sanctions against local and Chinese authorities.

The prosecutor’s office insisted that Lai used his media platform to appeal for international support and promoting “organized hostility” against Hong Kong and Beijing.

Meanwhile, the defense responded that AppleDaily represents legitimate positions in the public debate and that freedom of the press protects its editorial line.

The businessman’s lawyers argued that a newspaper should have greater freedom of expression and that the prosecution considered constitutionally protected opinions to be sedition.

National Security Law

The failure of this process, formally initiated in December 2023 and marked by political tensions, is due to Lai’s pre-eminence, one of the most important since the entry into force of the agreement. National security law imposed by Beijing in 2020.

One of the most controversial moments was the exclusion of the British lawyer Timothy Owen after Beijing allowed Hong Kong’s chief executive to veto the participation of foreign lawyers in national security matters.

As a result, the trial took place without a jury and before a panel of three judges designated specifically for this type of case, in a format that has become the norm since the massive and sometimes violent protests of 2019.

Lai’s personal situation triggered international concern and his children have reported notable physical deterioration after nearly five years in solitary confinement, but Hong Kong authorities assure that he is receiving adequate medical care and reject that he is being subjected to inadequate treatment.

The affair also reached the diplomatic level: the American president, Donald Trumpclaimed to have raised the case with Beijing, while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said his situation was a “priority” for London.

Beijing, for its part, accuses the two countries of interference in China’s internal affairs and maintains that Hong Kong courts act independently and in accordance with local law.

The trial against Lai and his newspaper has become a symbol of the political and legal transformation experienced by the former colony in recent years, marked by a gradual erosion of rights and freedoms and illustrated by the dissolution of civil organizations, opposition parties and profound changes in the functioning of the judicial and electoral systems.