Former Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai convicted in landmark national security trial

HONG KONG (AP) — Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy former Hong Kong media mogul and outspoken critic of Beijing, was convicted in a landmark national security trial in the city’s court on Monday, which could send him to prison for the rest of his life.

Three government-vetted judges found Lai, 78, guilty of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiracy to publish seditious articles. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Lai, 78, was arrested in August 2020 under a Beijing-imposed national security law that was implemented following massive anti-government protests in 2019. During his five years in custody, Lai has been sentenced for several lesser offenses, and appears to have grown more frail and thinner.

Lai’s trial, conducted without a jury, has been closely monitored by the U.S., Britain, the European Union and political observers as a barometer of media freedom and judicial independence in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Court said Lai spent years plotting against Beijing

Reading from an 855-page verdict, Judge Esther Toh said that Lai had extended a “constant invitation” to the U.S. to help bring down the Chinese government with the excuse of helping Hong Kongers.

Lai’s lawyers admitted during the trial that he had called for sanctions before the National Security Law took effect, but insisted he dropped these calls to comply with the law.

But the judges ruled that Lai had never wavered in his intention to destabilize the ruling Chinese Communist Party, “continuing though in a less explicit way” in defiance of the new law.

Toh said the court was satisfied that Lai was the “mastermind” of the conspiracies and that Lai’s evidence was at times contradictory, inconsistent and unreliable.

Among the attendees were Lai’s wife and son, and Hong Kong’s Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen. Lai pressed his lips and nodded to his family before being escorted out of the courtroom by guards.

His verdict is also a test for Beijing’s diplomatic ties. U.S. President Donald Trump said he has raised the case with China, and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said his government has made it a priority to secure the release of Lai, who is a British citizen.

Lai could face life in prison

The founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily will be sentenced on a later day.

Under Hong Kong’s sweeping national security law, the collusion charge could result in a sentence ranging from three years in jail to life imprisonment, depending on the offense’s nature and his role in it. The sedition charge carries a maximum of two years’ imprisonment. A four-day mitigation hearing was set to begin Jan. 12 for Lai and other defendants in the case to argue for a shorter sentence.

The Apple Daily was a vocal critic of the Hong Kong government and the ruling Chinese Communist Party. It was forced to shut in 2021 after police raided its newsroom and arrested its senior journalists, with authorities freezing its assets.

During Lai’s 156-day trial, prosecutors accused him of conspiring with senior executives of Apple Daily and others to request foreign forces to impose sanctions or blockades and engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong or China.

The prosecution also accused Lai of making such requests, highlighting his meetings with former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in July 2019 at the height of the protests.

It also presented 161 publications, including Apple Daily articles, to the court as evidence of conspiracy to publish seditious materials, as well as social media posts and text messages.

Health concerns raised during marathon trial

Lai testified for 52 days in his own defense, arguing that he had not called for foreign sanctions after the sweeping security law was imposed in June 2020.

His legal team also argued for freedom of expression.

As the trial progressed, Lai’s health appeared to be deteriorating.

Lai’s lawyers in August told the court that he suffered from heart palpitations. Before the verdict, his daughter Claire told The Associated Press that her father has become weaker and skinnier, and lost some of his nails and teeth. She also said he suffered from infections for months, along with constant back pain, diabetes, heart issues and high blood pressure.

“His spirit is strong but his body is failing,” she said.

Hong Kong’s government said no abnormalities were found during a medical examination that followed Lai’s complaint of heart problems. It added this month that the medical services provided to him were “adequate and comprehensive.”

Before sunrise, dozens of residents queued outside the court building to secure a courtroom seat.

Former Apple Daily employee Tammy Cheung arrived at 5 a.m., saying she wanted to know about Lai’s condition after reports of his health.

She said she felt the process was being rushed since the verdict date was announced only last Friday, but added, “I’m relieved that this case can at least conclude soon.”

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Originally scheduled to start in December 2022, Lai’s trial was postponed to December 2023 as authorities blocked a British lawyer from representing him, citing national security risks.

In 2022, Lai was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison over separate fraud charges involving lease violations at Apple Daily’s headquarters. He was also previously sentenced for his roles in unauthorized assemblies in other cases related to the 2019 protests.

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Associated Press writer Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong contributed to this report.