Jimmy Lai trial: Over 5 years since arrest, media mogul hears verdict in nat. security case

Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai will hear the verdict in his closely watched national security case on Monday morning, more than five years and four months since his initial arrest in August 2020.

The tycoon, who turned 78 behind bars last week, will be brought to the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts, where a panel of three handpicked judges will deliver a ruling on whether he is guilty of two counts of conspiring to collude with foreign forces under the Beijing-imposed national security law and a third count of sedition under colonial-era legislation. He faces life imprisonment if convicted.

The verdict in Lai’s case had been adjourned since late August, after the court finished hearing closing arguments from both the prosecution and the defence. The media mogul took the witness stand for a total of 52 days during his 156-day trial that began in December 2023.

Prosecutors have accused Lai of requesting foreign countries to engage in hostile activities, such as imposing sanctions, against authorities in Hong Kong and mainland China. He also allegedly used Apple Daily, a pro-democracy tabloid newspaper he founded in 1995, to publish seditious remarks against the authorities and encourage the public to participate in the 2019 extradition bill protests and unrest.

Lai is accused of not only conspiring with senior editorial staff of Apple Daily, but also being the “mastermind and financial supporter” of the Stand With Hong Kong (SWHK) advocacy group, which lobbied for international sanctions against Hong Kong and China.

A box of apples was delivered by an unknown person to the West Kowloon Law Court Building before dawn on Monday, as dozens of people lined up in the cold for a public seat inside the courtroom. Many did not respond to questions from reporters.

At the end of the queue, two former Apple Daily employees told HKFP they felt ambivalent about the verdict, set to be delivered at 10am on Monday.

“All of a sudden… they announced the verdict hearing on Monday,” former Apple Daily reporter Tammy Cheung said in Cantonese. “But I also felt relieved, because this case is coming to an end. After the boss [Lai], other colleagues could see an end too.”

Lai stands accused of foreign collusion and sedition alongside a group of Apple Daily executives, including former editor-in-chief Ryan Law and ex-associate publisher Chan Pui-man. Some of the co-defendants had testified against Lai in court.

“Mr Lai has given a sense of support and encouragement to many people. He has committed to his cause despite the enormous challenges,” said another ex-Apple Daily reporter, who declined to give her name because she still works in the media.

“I hope he stays well and has a chance to reunite with his family.”

The two former Apple Daily reporters expressed a wish to see Lai in person after the tycoon’s children raised concerns about his health while he was in custody, as they lobbied internationally for his release.

The verdict will encapsulate the years-long legal proceedings of the high-profile national security case. Lai has been detained for over 1,800 days, while Apple Daily was forced to shutter in June 2021.

A university student who gave only his first name, George, told HKFP he wanted to bear witness to this “historic moment” for a newspaper that “held an important place in Hong Kong’s history.”

“I think no one would have imagined that a tabloid would occupy such an important place in Hong Kong’s journalistic history and democracy movement,” he said in Cantonese.

A woman in the queue who gave only her surname, Wong, said that “there’s no more freedom of speech, that they’re conducting the trial however they see fit.”

Another woman, who gave her name as Cat and arrived around 8 am after a medical appointment, said she was hoping to be present for Lai’s verdict “as a Hongkonger with a conscience.”

Regardless of what she believed, she said, she knew it was up to the court to decide. “And we’re not allowed to speak freely.

“Deep down, we are very angry,” she said. “Even if we can’t change the outcome, we want to tell [Lai] that there are good-hearted people supporting him… All we want to do is see [Lai’s] face, see how he’s holding up – but I don’t think we can even do that.”

Local journalist Ronson Chan, a former Apple Daily reporter, told the press: “For the past 30 years in Hong Kong, we were able to occupy a very special place. We were able to hold a more critical view of the country and more openly seek democracy in China, and proudly engage in journalism… but I don’t think these things will appear again.”

Lai’s lawyers argued Apple Daily was not “seditious” because the publication represented views in public discourse, and a newspaper publisher should enjoy a “greater latitude” of freedom of expression as guaranteed by the constitutional right of press freedom.

Lai has been incarcerated since December 31, 2020, when the Court of Final Appeal revoked his bail. He was sentenced in 2021 to an almost six-year jail term for fraud over violating lease agreements relating to the paper’s headquarters.

Medical concerns

Lai’s children, Claire and Sebastien, have been rallying for international support to secure his release, warning of their father’s deteriorating health while in custody.

Hong Kong authorities have denied any mistreatment of Lai while in prison, stating the media mogul has been receiving appropriate treatment and medical care during his detention.

The landmark case has received international attention over the past five years, with media outlets from around the world flying in to cover the developments. Overseas politicians, including US President Donald Trump, and press freedom groups, have also advocated for Lai’s release, but Beijing condemned such calls as attempts to interfere with the administration of justice in Hong Kong, which it says violates principles of international law and the basic norms of international relations.

Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. 

The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.