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A court in Hong Kong has found the British media tycoon and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai guilty on multiple charges of sedition and foreign collusion, in a landmark moment for the city’s draconian national security laws and sliding press freedoms.
Lai, 78, faces the prospect of spending the rest of his life in prison. He is expected to be sentenced early next year.
The British national, who was the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper in Hong Kong, was arrested in 2020 shortly after Beijing introduced tough new national security laws as part of a crackdown on massive anti-government protests in 2019.
He was charged with collusion with foreign forces under the Beijing-imposed national security law, conspiracy to publish seditious publications under colonial-era sedition laws, and fraud related to alleged breaches of lease conditions for his company’s office premises.
Lai pleaded not guilty to all the charges brought against him.
Three judges announced the verdict on Monday as Lai sat in a glass box in a small courtroom where his wife and son were also present.
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Judge Esther Toh said Lai’s actions left “no doubt” that he had “harboured resentment” for the Chinese government.
“The evidence plainly shows that [Lai] clearly conspired with senior management at Apple Daily and the corporate entities in counts one and two,” she said.
“There is indisputable evidence that [Lai] conspired with the named conspirators in count three … to request foreign countries to impose sanctions, blockade, or engage in other hostile activities against the PRC, HKSAR or both,” she said, referring to the People’s Republic of China and Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Lai appeared calm as the verdict was announced and pressed his lips and nodded to his family before being escorted out of the courtroom by guards.
Lai’s family have repeatedly raised concerns over his deteriorating health throughout his five years in detention, much of it spent in solitary confinement. His family say he has become weaker and skinnier during a marathon trial process, while he already suffers from pain, diabetes, heart issues and high blood pressure.
Monday morning’s verdict was denounced as a brutal end to free speech and a “sham conviction” of the media mogul.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said every day that Lai was kept in prison increased the risk of him dying behind bars.
“This sham conviction is a disgraceful act of persecution,” said CPJ Asia-Pacific director Beh Lih Yi. “The ruling underscores Hong Kong’s utter contempt for press freedom, which is supposed to be protected under the city’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law.”
He demanded that Lai be reunited with his family.
Reporters without Borders said it was “outraged” by Lai’s conviction. It said the judgement marks “the alarming deterioration of media freedom” and that Lai “embodied the courage of independent journalists in Hong Kong”.
