The judges in the trial of Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai on Thursday retired to consider their verdict on three national security charges that could see the 77-year-old pro-democracy firebrand jailed for life.
Lai, the outspoken founder of the Apple Daily – a tabloid newspaper known for blistering broadsides against the Chinese Communist party – has become a symbol of Beijing’s sweeping national security crackdown on Hong Kong.
He is accused of using the now-shuttered Apple Daily to call for sanctions against Hong Kong and China during the huge anti-government protests that roiled the finance hub in 2019 and after the law was introduced the following year.
Lai pleaded not guilty to a sedition charge and two counts of colluding with foreign forces, a crime punishable by life in prison under the national security law.
Lai was dressed in a white shirt and beige blazer at Thursday’s court appearance. Looking noticeably thinner than earlier appearances, he smiled and waved at supporters in the public gallery before being led out of the dock by prison officers
During their closing argument, his lawyers framed the trial as an attempt by prosecutors to “denigrate” the guarantee of fundamental rights.
“It’s not wrong to support freedom of expression or human rights,” Lai’s barrister Robert Pang SC argued in his closing speech last week. “Nor is it wrong not to love a particular administration or even a country.”
Prosecutors painted Lai as the “mastermind” of a conspiracy to smear Hong Kong and China through the lobbying of US officials and content published in his newspaper and on X.
Arriving at a verdict could take at least weeks, if not months, as the three specially selected judges, not juries – a departure from the city’s common law tradition – pore over a voluminous body of evidence.
The judges are also working through evidence submitted that prosecutors say shows Lai lobbied high-profile US figures including President Donald Trump’s former national security adviser John Bolton and Paul Wolfowitz, former Deputy Secretary of Defense.
The US President has repeatedly vowed to do “everything I can to save Lai” - as recently as two weeks ago in an interview with Fox News Radio.
Both the Chinese Embassy in Washington and the Hong Kong government have warned against “external forces” interfering with internal affairs and judicial process.
The final stretch of the trial was marked by health concerns for Lai.
His lawyers told the court that Lai had been experiencing palpitations and episodes of light-headedness, prompting judges to adjourn the hearing to get his prescribed medications and a heart monitor.
Prosecutors had to arrange medical professionals to stand by in court, with a government spokesperson saying Lai had been provided with regular medical check-ups and “adequate and comprehensive” medical care in custody.
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