Lai convicted of national security charges in Hong Kong

Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been found guilty on two counts of foreign collusion and of seditious publication, in one of the Chinese city's highest-profile national security trials.

The founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper has been in jail since 2020.

His case is widely criticised as an example of eroding political freedoms under the national security law that China imposed on Hong Kong following huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Prosecutors said Lai, 78, was the mastermind behind two conspiracies to ask foreign countries to impose "sanctions or blockade" or take "hostile activities" against Hong Kong or China, and accused him of publishing materials they said "excited disaffection" against the government.

"There is no doubt that (Lai) had harboured his resentment and hatred of the PRC for many of his adult years, and this is apparent in his articles," Judge Esther Toh told the court, using the acronym of the People's Republic of China (PRC).

"It is also clear to us that the first defendant has from an early stage, long before the National Security Law, been applying his mind as to what leverage the US could use against the PRC," she said, referring to Lai.

Lai looked impassive as he listened to the verdicts with folded arms and did not speak.

He now faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and will be sentenced at a later date.

He can appeal the charges.

Dozens of police officers were deployed around the court building, with an armoured car positioned nearby.

Consular representatives - including those from the United States, the European Union and France - were among those queueing to enter.

"We're here to observe ... to signal close interest in these cases," Matthias Kaufmann, deputy head of the EU Office to Hong Kong and Macao, said before entering the court.

Lai's wife Teresa, his son Lai Shun-yan, as well as veterans from Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp, including Cardinal Joseph Zen and former legislator Emily Lau, were also in attendance.

The case has grown into a wedge between China and many Western nations, with US President Donald Trump reportedly calling for Lai's release during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in October.

The British government has repeatedly described the prosecution of Lai, a British citizen, as "politically motivated".

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the ruling as a "sham conviction".

"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," CPJ Asia-Pacific Director Beh Lih Yi said in a statement.

Lai once described himself as a "born rebel".

He defied the Chinese Communist Party for years while amassing millions from his clothing and media empires.

China said on Friday that it "firmly supports" Hong Kong in "safeguarding national security" from criminal acts.

Lai is a British citizen and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces pressure from rights groups to secure his release.

Diplomats from the United States and the European Union were among those watching as the verdicts were pronounced, with Matthias Kaufmann, deputy head of the EU mission, saying he came to the court "to signal close interest in these cases".

The European Union said it "deplores" Lai's conviction and called for his release.

"This prosecution is politically motivated and emblematic of the erosion of democracy and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong since the imposition of the National Security Law," a statement said.

London said Lai "has been targeted by the Chinese and Hong Kong governments for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression".

"We will continue to appeal to the Chinese government ahead of Jimmy Lai sentencing for his release and access to medical treatment," the office of Prime Minister Keir Starmer said.

Lai looked thinner than when he first entered custody and some of the dozens of supporters who gathered at dawn in front of West Kowloon court building expressed concern for his wellbeing.

"I really want to see what's happening with 'the boss', to see if his health has deteriorated," said Tammy Cheung, who worked at Lai's newspaper for nearly two decades.

Lai's family recently said he had lost weight and had visible decay to his nails and teeth since his imprisonment.

The Hong Kong government said Lai has received "adequate and comprehensive" care, adding that "no complaints" had been raised.

Authorities also confirmed that Lai had been held in solitary confinement, but said that "has all along been made at his own request".

Prosecutors cited 161 items Apple Daily published in their case against Lai.

Those items, including opinion pieces with Lai's byline and online talk shows he hosted, were deemed seditious under a colonial-era law because they "excited disaffection" against the government.

Prosecutors also accused Lai of being the mastermind and financial backer of the protest group Stand with Hong Kong, Fight for Freedom.

Lai countered that he had never sought to influence other countries' foreign policies, saying Apple Daily represented Hongkongers' core values: "rule of law, freedom, pursuit of democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly.

Apple Daily was forced to close in 2021 following police raids.

Six top executives were charged as co-defendants and have already pleaded guilty.