Detained pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai is set to take the stand for the first time on Wednesday in his high-profile national security trial.
The 76-year-old founder of the shuttered Apple Daily newspaper stands accused of two counts of taking part in a “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces” under Beijing’s security law, and one count of conspiring to publish “seditious” materials under a colonial-era law. He faces up to life in prison if convicted.
Police watch over people queuing outside the West Kowloon Law Courts Building on November 19, 2024, ahead of the national security trial of Jimmy Lai resuming the following day. Photo: Kyle Lam/HKFP.
Originally estimated to last 80 days, the trial was adjourned in July on the 92nd day of proceedings until Wednesday, when the court will hear from Lai for the first time. The four month delay was due to the availability of the three judges, each handpicked to handle national security cases.
The court heard previously that Lai’s testimony and cross-examination was expected to take three to four weeks.
Hong Kong pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai. File photo: Kelly Ho/HKFP.
Citing an opinion adopted by the working group dated September 26, King’s Counsel Caoilfhionn Gallagher said it had expressed “alarm” that Lai had been placed in prolonged solitary confinement for almost four years, and urged the Hong Kong authorities to remedy the situation.
“It is a resounding endorsement of what we have said all along: Jimmy Lai is being unlawfully and arbitrarily detained in respect of each and every case brought against him in Hong Kong,” Gallagher, from Doughty Street Chambers in the UK, said.
In statements issued on Sunday, the government said that Lai had had been placed in solitary confinement upon his own request. Individuals in custody may ask to be removed from association with other detainees on the basis of personal safety and well-being. The request is subject to the approval of the correctional services chief.
Stanley Prison. File Photo: GovHK.
Hong Kong’s judicial system and trials had been “blatantly discredited” by an international legal team that claimed to represent the Apple Daily founder, the government said on Sunday night, hours after it issued an earlier statement condemning “misleading” comments on Lai’s national security case.
