The media tycoon and democracy supporter, now 76, has been in jail for 3 years, accused of ‘collusion with foreign forces’.
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai has gone on trial for alleged nationwide safety offences, hours after the UK joined requires his speedy launch.
Lai, who has been imprisoned since December 2020, arrived in court docket at 10am (02:00 GMT) the place he’s charged with conspiring to collude with international powers underneath the nationwide safety legislation imposed on the territory by China in June 2020.
Journalists contained in the court docket stated the 76-year-old, who was wearing a blue shirt and carrying a e book, seemed like he had misplaced weight, however appeared in good spirits.
The writer of the now-defunct Apple Each day is one in every of China’s most vocal critics and was arrested initially in August 2020 as police raided the newspaper’s officers.
The trial was imagined to have began a yr in the past, however was delayed after the federal government challenged his selection of defence counsel, Timothy Owen, a UK-based lawyer, and sought Beijing’s intervention.
Lai and the Apple Each day additionally face prices underneath a sedition legislation courting from the British colonial period.
He has pleaded not responsible to all prices.
In a press release late on Sunday, UK Overseas Secretary David Cameron stated he was “gravely concerned” concerning the trial and joined the USA and European Union in calling for Lai’s speedy launch.
Lai is a British citizen.
“As a prominent and outspoken journalist and publisher, Jimmy Lai has been targeted in a clear attempt to stop the peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of expression and association,” Cameron stated, noting that the safety legislation was in breach of the commitments made to Hong Kong when it resumed sovereignty over the territory in 1997.
“I urge the Chinese authorities to repeal the National Security Law and end the prosecution of all individuals charged under it. I call on the Hong Kong authorities to end their prosecution and release Jimmy Lai.”
‘Rule by law’
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy politicians, as soon as vibrant civil society and media got here underneath strain within the wake of mass demonstrations in 2019, which started over issues a couple of deliberate extradition invoice with mainland China and advanced into requires better democracy.
A yr after it was imposed, Amnesty Worldwide stated the safety legislation had “decimated” Hong Kong’s rights and freedoms.
The US additionally referred to as for Lai’s speedy launch and condemned the prosecution.
“Lai has been held in pre-trial detention for more than 1,000 days, and Hong Kong and Beijing authorities have denied him his choice of legal representation,” US State Division spokesperson Matthew Miller stated in a press release. “We call on Hong Kong authorities to immediately release Jimmy Lai and all others imprisoned for defending their rights.”
Safety on Monday was tight after Secretary for Safety Chris Tang warned it might be enhanced as a result of beforehand, “these kinds of cases” had attracted individuals eager to disrupt proceedings and harass prosecutors.
Individuals started queueing early for tickets with simply 70 seats in the principle venue on the West Kowloon court docket constructing open to the general public.
Some police have been in riot gear, whereas others had canines. A bomb disposal automobile was parked close by.
“Jimmy Lai’s case is a case of weaponising the legal system in Hong Kong,” Finn Lau, a UK-based activist and founding father of Hong Kong Liberty, advised Al Jazeera. “There is no rule of law in Hong Kong anymore. It is just rule by law.”
Lai has already been discovered responsible and jailed over separate instances associated to the administration of Apple Each day and his involvement in a vigil to mark the 1989 Tiananmen Sq. bloodbath.
The ultimate version of the Apple Each day rolled off the presses in June 2021.
Different publications essential of the administration have additionally folded, whereas elections have been overhauled to make sure solely so-called “patriots” are capable of maintain public workplace within the territory.
Final week’s elections for district councils noticed a record-low turnout of simply 27.5 %. The variety of straight elected seats was reduce to simply 88, in contrast with 462 beforehand, and all candidates needed to safe official approval earlier than they might stand.
“Actions that stifle press freedom and restrict the free flow of information – as well as Beijing and local authorities’ changes to Hong Kong’s electoral system that reduce direct voting and preclude independent and pro-democracy party candidates from participating – have undermined Hong Kong’s democratic institutions and harmed Hong Kong’s reputation as an international business and financial hub,” Miller stated in his assertion.