"Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy former Hong Kong media mogul and outspoken critic of Beijing, was convicted in a landmark national security trial in the city's court on Monday, 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 has also been convicted of several lesser offenses related to fraud allegations and his actions in 2019. Lai's trial, conducted 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."
Jimmy Lai, a prominent pro-democracy media mogul and critic of Beijing, was convicted by three government-vetted judges on charges of conspiring to collude with foreign forces and publishing seditious articles. Lai pleaded not guilty to all charges. Lai was arrested in August 2020 under a Beijing-imposed national security law enacted after the 2019 protests and has spent five years largely in custody and solitary confinement, with family reporting rapid health decline. He has prior convictions on lesser offenses related to fraud and 2019 actions. The jury-less trial drew close international attention as a test of media freedom and judicial independence. Judge Esther Toh, reading from an 855-page verdict, said Lai had extended invitations to the U.S. to help bring down the Chinese government.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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