Media mogul Jimmy Lai poses during an interview with AFP at the Next Digital offices in Hong Kong, June 16, 2020. ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP
Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai was found guilty on all three charges in his national security trial on Monday, December 15, convictions that rights groups denounced as the death knell for press freedoms in the Chinese financial hub.
Prosecutors said Lai was the mastermind behind two conspiracies to ask foreign countries to sanction, blockade or take action against Hong Kong or China, and accused him of publishing material that "excited disaffection" against the government. "There is no doubt that [Lai] had harbored his resentment and hatred of the PRC," Judge Esther Toh told the court, referring to the People's Republic of China. She said he had invited the United States "to help bring down" the Chinese government, "with the excuse of helping the people of HK."
The 78-year-old media mogul, who pleaded not guilty, faces up to life in prison when he is sentenced. He can appeal against the convictions. Wearing a light green cardigan and gray jacket, he listened impassively as the verdicts were read out. He nodded to his wife Teresa and his son Lai Shun-yan in the public gallery as he left the court, an AFP reporter saw. Defense lawyer Robert Pang told reporters that Lai was "in fine spirits" and that they would need to read the 886-page verdict before deciding on their next steps.
