Hong Kong Lai verdict ‘death knell’ for press
Hong Kong’s High Court has found newspaper owner Jimmy Lai guilty of two counts of conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign forces and one count of conspiracy to commit sedition.
Lai, who had pleaded not guilty, is the founder of pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, which was shut down by authorities.
He had been charged under the territory’s controversial National Security Law (NSL) imposed by China after mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.
Lai, who has been detained since late 2020, now faces possible life imprisonment.
Irish-born Caoilfhinn Gallagher KC has been leading his international legal team.
‘Dismaying’ verdict
Amnesty International’s China Director Sarah Brooks said that the predictability of the verdict did not make it any less dismaying.
“The conviction of Jimmy Lai feels like the death knell for press freedom in Hong Kong, where the essential work of journalism has been rebranded as a crime,” she stated.
Brooks said that Lai had been jailed only because he and his newspaper criticised the government.
“This verdict shows that Hong Kong’s so-called ‘national-security’ laws are not in place to protect people, but to silence them,” she stated.
Amnesty has called for his immediate and unconditional release.
The EU has also called for Lai's release, describing his prosecution as "politically motivated and emblematic of the erosion of democracy and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong since the imposition of the National Security Law in 2020".