Tag: Press freedom

UN Calls on Hong Kong to Drop Case Against Publisher Jimmy Lai

Media Library

As Hong Kong’s official legal year began Monday, the city’s chief justice, Andrew Cheung, used the opportunity to stress how the judiciary takes its duty seriously. The courts will not “blindly convict” anyone and will respect fundamental rights in national security cases, Cheung said at the official ceremony, adding that the justice system will also not bow to pressure. “Threats of sanction or reprisal against judges for simply discharging their judicial duties are, therefore, repugnant to the rule of law and fundamentally objectionable,” said Cheung. The chief justice’s comments come…

US Citizens Named in Jimmy Lai Trial Deny Allegations: ‘Just Journalism’

Media Library

LONDON —  The names of two U.S. citizens came up in the trial of Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong this week as the prosecution brought forward its first witness in the landmark national security case. Lai has been charged with “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces” under the Hong Kong National Security Law, among other crimes. Lai has pleaded not guilty. Following this week’s testimony from a former colleague at the newspaper, the two Americans named, Mark Simon and Mark Clifford, said the allegations that came up…

Nearly Half of Journalists Jailed in China Are Uyghurs, Report Says

Media Library

washington —  Nearly half of the 44 journalists imprisoned in China in 2023 were Uyghurs, according to a report released Thursday. Data from the Committee to Protect Journalists, or CPJ — which offered a global snapshot of journalists jailed for their work as of December 1 — found China had the most media workers imprisoned. The high proportion of Uyghurs detained in the country highlights the intersection between Beijing’s poor press freedom record and its human rights abuses against the majority-Muslim ethnic group, analysts said. An examination of the cases…

Jimmy Lai and the rule of law in Hong Kong | Letter

Media Library

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

Media Library

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…

Hong Kong Prosecutors Allege Pro-Democracy Publisher Jimmy Lai Encouraged Protests 

Media Library

washington —  Prosecutors in Hong Kong alleged on Wednesday that pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai encouraged the city’s residents to engage in protests and pushed the United States to take action against China. The British national, who founded the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, was arrested in 2020 and is now standing trial on charges of conspiring to collude with foreign governments and conspiring to publish seditious material. Lai, 76, rejects the charges against him and has pleaded not guilty. Western governments and human rights groups are closely watching Lai’s trial,…

Hong Kong Court Rejects Activist Publisher Bid to Throw Out Sedition Charge

Media Library

HONG KONG —  A Hong Kong court on Friday rejected a bid by prominent activist publisher Jimmy Lai to throw out a sedition charge against him, delivering the ruling on the third day of his landmark national security trial. Lai, 76, was arrested during the city’s crackdown on dissidents following huge pro-democracy protests in 2019. He faces possible life imprisonment if convicted under a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing. He is charged with colluding with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiring with others to publish seditious…

The Guardian view on Jimmy Lai: this sham trial is another bleak day for Hong Kong | Editorial

Media Library

Hong Kong police are reportedly deploying 1,000 officers around the clock to guard the courtroom where the trial of Jimmy Lai began on Monday, three years after his arrest. Like the decision to hold the British citizen in solitary confinement in a maximum-security prison, this is theatre. Mr Lai, a media mogul and pro-democracy activist, is 76. His allies in the 2019 movement to uphold Hong Kong’s freedoms are themselves in jail or have fled abroad. Political opposition has been ruthlessly suppressed following the protests. Mr Lai is charged with conspiring to…

Hong Kong Publisher to Stand Trial This Week Under Beijing’s Dissident Crackdown

Media Library

HONG KONG —  The trial of Hong Kong’s most famous activist publisher who was arrested under China’s crackdown on dissidents will start Monday after being delayed for more than a year. Jimmy Lai, 76, broke into the city’s once freewheeling media world about three decades ago, armed with the belief that delivering information is equal to protecting freedom. Now, his own freedom is at stake as he faces a possible life sentence if convicted under a national security law imposed by Beijing following the 2019 pro-democracy protests. Lai is charged…

World watches as landmark Jimmy Lai trial set to begin in Hong Kong

Media Library

Hong Kong’s global reputation will be tested this week when the long-delayed trial of the pro-democracy activist and former media mogul Jimmy Lai gets under way. Lai, who turned 76 in jail this month, is charged with colluding with foreign forces under the national security law, as well as sedition. If convicted, which experts say is highly likely, the British national faces spending the rest of his life in prison. The trial starts on Monday, two weeks after another landmark hearing came to an end on 4 December. The Hong…