Verdict for Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai’s national security trial expected on Monday

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By Jessie Pang and James Pomfret

HONG KONG, Dec 12 (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s High Court will hand down a verdict against pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai on Monday, according to a judiciary notice, in a landmark national security trial that has exemplified China’s crackdown on rights and freedoms in the Asian financial hub.

Lai, 78, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, and a charge of conspiracy to publish seditious material in a case where he faces life imprisonment if convicted.

The 156-day trial, which began in December 2023, has drawn international scrutiny, including from the U.S., and is the most high-profile use of Beijing’s sweeping national security law that was imposed after mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Washington and several other countries say the trial is politically motivated and have demanded Lai’s immediate release. U.S. President Donald Trump raised Lai’s case during a meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping in South Korea in October.

His family and lawyers have said Lai’s health is deteriorating and he suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure as well as heart palpitations that require medication.

Lai, a former media mogul who founded the now-shuttered pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, has been held in solitary confinement for more than 1,800 days, according to his family and rights groups.

The Chinese and Hong Kong governments say he is being given a fair trial.

Lai stands accused of using the Apple Daily as a platform to conspire with six former executives and others to produce seditious publications between April 2019 and June 2021, and colluding with foreign forces between July 2020 and June 2021.

He was accused of conspiring with activist Andy Li, paralegal Chan Tsz-wah and others to invite foreign countries, including the U.S., Britain and Japan to impose sanctions, blockades and other hostile measures against Hong Kong and China.

Chinese and Hong Kong officials have previously said it is important the local legal process is able to take its course, and that Lai has been given a fair hearing.

Hong Kong, a former British colony, operates a separate judicial system to the rest of China, based around Common Law traditions that mean Lai has greater legal protections than in mainland China.

(Reporting by Jessie Pang and James Pomfret; Editing by Saad Sayeed)