Former Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai convicted in landmark national security trial

HONG KONG (AP) — Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy former Hong Kong media mogul and outspoken critic of Beijing, was convicted Monday in a landmark national security trial, which could send him to prison for the rest of his life.

Three government-vetted judges found Lai, 78, guilty of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiracy to publish seditious articles. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Lai was arrested in August 2020 under a Beijing-imposed national security law that was implemented following massive anti-government protests in 2019. Lai has spent five years in custody, much of it in solitary confinement, and his family said his health has declined rapidly. He was previously convicted of several lesser offenses related to fraud allegations and his actions in 2019.

Lai’s trial, conducted in a Hong Kong court without a jury, has been closely monitored by the U.S., Britain, the European Union and political observers as a barometer of media freedom and judicial independence in the former British colony, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

His son Sebastien Lai said the family had expected a guilty verdict, “but that doesn’t make it any less devastating.”

“In the 800-page verdict they have there is essentially nothing, nothing that incriminates him,” he told reporters in London. “This is a perfect example of how the national security law has been molded and weaponized against someone who essentially said stuff that they didn’t like.”

His daughter Claire said she dreams of being reunited with her father without being watched over by guards.

“But I think what today has proven is that that reunion that I dream of, it won’t be through the once extremely promising but now very, very highly compromised Hong Kong legal system,” she said in Washington where she has been rallying support for her father’s case.

Court said Lai spent years plotting against Beijing

Reading from the 855-page verdict, Judge Esther Toh said Lai had extended a “constant invitation” to the U.S. to help bring down the Chinese government with the excuse of helping Hong Kongers.

Lai’s lawyers admitted during the trial that he had called for foreign sanctions before the national security law took effect, but insisted he dropped these calls to comply with the law.

But the judges ruled that Lai had never wavered in his intention to destabilize the ruling Chinese Communist Party, “continuing though in a less explicit way.”

Toh said the court was satisfied that Lai was the mastermind of the conspiracies and that Lai’s evidence was at times contradictory and unreliable. The judges ruled that the only reasonable inference from the evidence was that Lai’s only intent, both before and after the security law, was to seek the downfall of the ruling Communist Party even at the sacrifice of the people of China and Hong Kong.

“This was the ultimate aim of the conspiracies and secessionist publications,” they wrote.

His verdict is a test for Beijing’s diplomatic ties. U.S. President Donald Trump, who raised Lai’s case with China, said he felt “so badly.” U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said his government has made it a priority to secure the release of Lai, who is a British citizen.

Lai could face life in prison

Lai, the founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, will be sentenced on a later day. He faces up to life in prison.

Hearings were set to begin Jan. 12 for Lai and other defendants in the case to argue for a shorter sentence.

The Apple Daily, a vocal critic of the Hong Kong government and Beijing, was forced to shut in 2021 after police raided its newsroom and arrested its senior journalists, with authorities freezing its assets.

During Lai’s 156-day trial, prosecutors accused him of conspiring with senior executives of Apple Daily and others to request foreign forces to impose sanctions or blockades and engage in other hostile activities against Hong Kong or China.

The prosecution highlighted his meetings with former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in July 2019 at the height of the protests.

Lai testified for 52 days in his own defense, arguing that he had not called for foreign sanctions after the law was imposed in June 2020. His legal team also argued for freedom of expression.

Health concerns raised during marathon trial

As the trial progressed, Lai’s health appeared to be deteriorating.

Lai’s lawyers in August told the court that he suffered from heart palpitations.

His children have said that he lost 10 kilograms (22 pounds) in the past year alone and lost some of his nails and teeth. They also said he suffered from infections for months, along with constant back pain, diabetes, heart issues and high blood pressure.

Hong Kong’s government said no abnormalities were found during a medical examination that followed Lai’s complaint of heart problems. It added this month that the medical services provided to him were adequate.

Hong Kong leader John Lee said Lai harmed the fundamental interests of the country, calling his intentions malicious.

Steve Li, chief superintendent of Hong Kong police’s National Security Department, disputed claims of Lai’s worsening health outside the court building.

“Lai’s conviction is justice served,” he told reporters.

US and UK slam outcome, as China defends it

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the verdict reflected that Beijing’s law was being used to silence those seeking to protect freedom of speech. U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said her country condemned the politically motivated prosecution that resulted in the guilty verdict, and that it would continue to call for his release. The Foreign Office summoned the Chinese ambassador to express its objections, she said.

The EU also deplored the conviction.

In Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said China expressed firm opposition to the vilification of the city’s judiciary by “certain countries,” urging them to respect Hong Kong’s legal system.

Various rights groups condemned the verdict.

“It is not an individual who has been on trial — it is press freedom itself, and with this verdict that has been shattered,” said Reporters Without Borders’ director general Thibaut Bruttin.

But Hong Kong Secretary for Security Chris Tang said the verdict has nothing to do with press freedom.

Before sunrise, dozens of residents queued outside the court building to secure a courtroom seat.

Former Apple Daily employee Tammy Cheung arrived at 5 a.m., saying she wanted to know about Lai’s condition after reports of his health.

She said she felt the process was being rushed since the verdict date was announced only last Friday, but added, “I’m relieved that this case can at least conclude soon.”

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Associated Press writer Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong, Sylvia Hui in London and Didi Tang in Washington contributed to this report.