BREAKINGBREAKING,
The media tycoon and democracy supporter, now 76, has been in jail for 3 years, accused of ‘collusion with foreign forces’.
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai has gone on trial for alleged nationwide safety offences, hours after the UK joined requires his instant launch.
Lai, who has been imprisoned since December 2020, arrived in court at 10am (02:00 GMT) the place he’s charged with conspiring to collude with overseas powers underneath the nationwide safety legislation imposed on the territory by China in June 2020.
Journalists contained in the courtroom stated the 76-year-old, who was wearing a blue shirt and carrying a e-book, seemed like he had misplaced weight, however appeared in good spirits.
The writer of the now-defunct Apple Day by day is one in all China’s most vocal critics and was arrested initially in August 2020 as police raided the newspaper’s officers.
The trial was purported to have began a yr in the past, however was delayed after the federal government raised questions on his alternative of defence counsel, Timothy Owen, a UK-based lawyer, and sought Beijing’s intervention.
Lai and the Apple Day by day additionally face fees underneath a sedition legislation courting from the British colonial period.
He has pleaded not responsible to all fees.
In an announcement late on Sunday, UK Overseas Secretary David Cameron stated he was “gravely concerned” concerning the trial and joined america and European Union in calling for Lai’s instant launch.
“As a prominent and outspoken journalist and publisher, Jimmy Lai has been targeted in a clear attempt to stop the peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of expression and association,” Cameron stated, noting that the safety legislation was in breach of the commitments made to Hong Kong when it resumed sovereignty over the territory in 1997.
“I urge the Chinese authorities to repeal the National Security Law and end the prosecution of all individuals charged under it. I call on the Hong Kong authorities to end their prosecution and release Jimmy Lai.”
‘Rule by law’
Hong Kong’s pro-democracy politicians, as soon as vibrant civil society and media got here underneath strain within the wake of mass demonstrations in 2019, which started over issues a few deliberate extradition invoice with mainland China and advanced into requires larger democracy.
A yr after it was imposed, Amnesty Worldwide stated the safety legislation had “decimated” Hong Kong’s rights and freedoms.
The US additionally referred to as for Lai’s instant launch and condemned the prosecution.
“Lai has been held in pre-trial detention for more than 1,000 days, and Hong Kong and Beijing authorities have denied him his choice of legal representation,” US State Division spokesperson Matthew Miller stated in an announcement. “We call on Hong Kong authorities to immediately release Jimmy Lai and all others imprisoned for defending their rights.”
Safety on Monday was tight after Secretary for Safety Chris Tang warned it will be enhanced as a result of beforehand, “these kinds of cases” had attracted folks eager to disrupt proceedings and harass prosecutors.
Individuals started queueing early for tickets with simply 70 seats in the primary venue on the West Kowloon courtroom constructing open to the general public.
Some police have been in riot gear, whereas others had canines. A bomb disposal automobile was parked close by.
“Jimmy Lai’s case is a case of weaponising the legal system in Hong Kong,” Finn Lau, a UK-based activist and founding father of Hong Kong Liberty, informed Al Jazeera. “There is no rule of law in Hong Kong anymore. It is just rule by law.”
Lai has already been discovered responsible and jailed over separate circumstances associated to the administration of Apple Day by day and his involvement in a vigil to mark the 1989 Tiananmen Sq. bloodbath.
The final edition of the Apple Day by day rolled off the presses in June 2021.
Different publications crucial of the administration have additionally folded, whereas elections have been overhauled to make sure solely so-called “patriots” are capable of maintain public workplace within the territory.
Final week’s elections for district councils noticed a record-low turnout of simply 27.5 %. The variety of straight elected seats was minimize to only 88, in contrast with 462 beforehand, and all candidates needed to safe official approval earlier than they might stand.
“Actions that stifle press freedom and restrict the free flow of information – as well as Beijing and local authorities’ changes to Hong Kong’s electoral system that reduce direct voting and preclude independent and pro-democracy party candidates from participating – have undermined Hong Kong’s democratic institutions and harmed Hong Kong’s reputation as an international business and financial hub,” Miller stated in his assertion.
