""There is no doubt that the first defendant had harbored his resentment and hatred of the PRC for many of his adult years," Toh said, using an acronym for the People's Republic of China. Toh said the court was satisfied that Lai was the "mastermind" of the conspiracies and that the only reasonable inference from the evidence was that Lai sought the downfall of the ruling Communist Party."
""Jimmy Lai's conviction is a disgraceful act of persecution. The ruling underscores Hong Kong's utter contempt for press freedom, which is supposed to be protected under the city's mini-constitution, the Basic Law," CPJ regional director Beh Lih Yi sai in on social media platform X. "Jimmy Lai's only crime is running a newspaper and defending democracy. The risk of him dying from ill health in prison increases as each day passes he must be reunited with his family immediately, she added."
The High Court in Hong Kong found pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai guilty on two foreign collusion charges and one sedition charge. Lai was arrested in August 2020 under a Beijing-imposed national security law implemented after massive 2019 protests. The judge said evidence showed Lai extended "constant invitations" to the US to bring down the Chinese government and described him as the mastermind seeking the Communist Party's downfall. Lai pleaded not guilty and could face life imprisonment. Press freedom groups condemned the verdict as persecution and warned of increased risk to Lai's health while urging his reunion with family.
Read at www.dw.com
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