"Supporters of Hong Kong democracy activist and media mogul Jimmy Lai have begun queuing overnight outside a Hong Kong court ahead of a verdict in his lengthy trial. The verdict will be delivered by a three-judge panel in a hearing that begins at 10am local time (02:00 GMT) on Monday and comes amid international calls to release Lai, who has already spent five years in jail."
"Lai's family says his health has worsened after more than 1,800 days in solitary confinement, and that he suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure and heart palpitations. Earlier this month, his daughter Claire Lai told the AFP news agency in Washington, DC that her father has lost a very significant amount of weight and noted that he has become a lot weaker than he was before."
Supporters queued overnight outside a Hong Kong court to attend the verdict in Jimmy Lai's lengthy trial, with more than a block-long queue and some using camping gear to secure one of 507 tickets. Fifty-eight tickets are for Lai's courtroom and the remainder are for an overflow room viewed by video link. Dozens of police were deployed around the area ahead of the hearing. Lai, 78, founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily, was arrested in 2020 under a national security law after the 2019 protests. His family says his health has worsened after long solitary confinement, and international governments and rights groups have called for his release.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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