Final arguments have concluded in the national security trial of the pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong. Government-picked judges are retiring to consider their verdict in the case, seen internationally as a crucial test of the rule of law in the city. Lai, 77, has been in prison since 2020, when he was charged with two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious material. The charges were brought under a sweeping national security law (NSL) imposed by Beijing after…
Tag: Jimmy Lai
Jimmy Lai has ‘unwavering intent’ to solicit foreign sanctions, Hong Kong court told
Prosecutors in Jimmy Lai’s marathon national security trial have wrapped up their closing arguments in Hong Kong, telling the court that the elderly media mogul and activist had “unwavering intent” to solicit foreign sanctions. Lai has pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiring to commit foreign collusion under the Beijing-designed national security law, and another charge under the colonial-era laws of conspiring to publish seditious materials. Prosecutors say Lai used his media outlet and foreign political connections to lobby for governments to impose sanctions and other punitive measures against…
Jimmy Lai trial: closing arguments begin in Hong Kong trial of pro-democracy media mogul
Jailed Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai’s national security trial, which began in late 2023, will enter its final stages on Thursday as lawyers present closing arguments. The 77-year-old founder of the Apple Daily newspaper is charged with foreign collusion under Hong Kong’s national security law, which Beijing imposed following huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019. Lai has been kept behind bars since December 2020, reportedly in solitary confinement, with Western nations and rights groups calling for his release. Aside from the collusion offence – which could land…
Former prisoners and hostages urge Starmer to secure release of Jimmy Lai
Former prisoners and hostages wrongly held abroad have urged the UK prime minister to urgently secure the release of the pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai before he dies in a Hong Kong jail. The 77-year-old media mogul, who is a British citizen, has been held in solitary confinement for 1,602 days and his family fears he might not survive another summer in Hong Kong, where temperatures can reach 40C (104F). A letter to Keir Starmer signed by 22 people who were detained abroad and their family members, says he must act…
‘The old days are no more’: Hong Kong goes quiet as security laws tighten their grip
“Ideas are bulletproof”. Three words, stamped out in multicolour tiles above a doorway, represented one of the last vestiges of Hong Kong’s once vibrant literary spaces. On 31 March, Mount Zero, a beloved independent bookstore in Hong Kong, closed its doors for the final time. Hundreds of Hongkongers came to say goodbye. The bookshop, which opened in 2018, took its slogan from the 2005 film V for Vendetta; the eponymous antihero’s Guy Fawkes mask occasionally appeared during Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests. Mount Zero’s closure, which was announced after what the…
The Guardian view on Hong Kong’s new national security law: double the pain | Editorial
Residents of Hong Kong could be forgiven for a sense of deja vu. A draconian new national security law (NSL), broad in scope and harsh in penalties, is trampling over basic rights. It first happened four years ago, in response to the extraordinary uprising that saw one in four people take to the streets to defend the region’s autonomy and way of life. Beijing imposed the 2020 law upon the territory, demolishing any vestiges of its claim to run Hong Kong on a “one country, two systems” basis. That legislation,…
Jimmy Lai trial in Hong Kong hears evidence from ‘tortured’ witness
A key prosecution witness in the trial of Jimmy Lai took the stand in a Hong Kong court on Wednesday, giving evidence that the UN’s special rapporteur has said could be tainted because of allegations of torture. Andy Li, a computer programmer turned pro-democracy activist, gave evidence about his role in a crowdfunding campaign, Stand With Hong Kong, to rally support for the pro-democracy protests in 2019. The campaign, which ultimately raised more than $1.8m (£1.4m), placed advertisements in several newspapers including the Guardian, the Washington Post and the Australian.…
Jimmy Lai and the rule of law in Hong Kong | Letter
Your editorial (The Guardian view on Jimmy Lai: this sham trial is another bleak day for Hong Kong, 18 December) claims that the trial of Jimmy Lai’s case is a political one, suggesting that the British government should have acted earlier to urge China to release Jimmy Lai. It smears the National Security Law for Hong Kong, alleging that political interference has caused foreign companies to leave Hong Kong, and talks down the region’s development. These allegations misrepresent the facts and mislead the public. The Hong Kong special administrative region…
Jimmy Lai lawyers file UN appeal saying there is evidence witness was tortured
The international legal team for the imprisoned media mogul Jimmy Lai, who is on trial for national security offences in Hong Kong, has filed an urgent appeal with the United Nations special rapporteur on torture regarding one of the key prosecution witnesses in Lai’s trial. Lai’s lawyers say there is “credible evidence” that Andy Li, a 33-year-old former pro-democracy activist, was tortured while in prison in mainland China before he confessed to allegedly conspiring with Lai to collude with foreign forces. That is one of the two national security law…
Jimmy Lai pleads not guilty to all charges at Hong Kong national security trial
Jimmy Lai pleaded not guilty to all charges at the resumption of his national security trial in Hong Kong on Tuesday. The media tycoon and pro-democracy activist is facing up to life in prison if found guilty on the charges against him, brought under the 2021 national security law and a colonial-era sedition law. Wearing a white shirt and a navy blue jacket, and surrounded by three prison guards in the defendant’s dock, the 76-year-old replied “not guilty” in English to each of the charges read out on Tuesday. He…