After three postponements from the originally scheduled trial date of December 1, 2022, the national security trial of Apple Daily’s long-targeted founder and media tycoon Jimmy Lai will begin on December 18. The trial is expected to last at least 80 days until March 2024. 76-year-old Lai faces up to life imprisonment for alleged ‘sedition’ and ‘collusion with foreign forces’ charges after spending over 1,000 days in jail to date.
Lai is known for his support of the city’s pro-democracy movement, facing repeated arrests and prosecutions for his activism and criticism of the Chinese Communist Party’s encroachment on Hong Kong’s autonomy. On August 10, 2020, Lai was arrested by local authorities from his residence on suspicion of offences under Hong Kong’s National Security Law as well as fraud, shortly after the law was enacted on June 30, 2020. The law has wide-reaching implications for Hong Kong-based journalists, acting as a censor for any reports that contradict the message of Chinese authorities.
On October 25, 2022, Lai was convicted of fraud after a court found he violated the terms of a lease with the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corp. Following the conviction, on December 1, 2022, Beijing-appointed Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee requested Beijing intervene in the sedition trial of Jimmy Lai, eroding the autonomy promised by Chinese officials in 1997. On December 10, 2022, Lai was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison.
Under the national security law, which took effect on June 30, those found guilty of collusion with foreign forces face sentences of between three to 10 years in prison. They may face life imprisonment or more than 10 years behind bars if their offence is ruled to be of a grave nature.
The IFJ report, The Story That Won’t Be Silenced: Hong Kong Freedom of Expression Report, details the effective destruction of civil liberties and press freedom since the introduction of the national security law in 2020 and documents the survival stories of journalists, media practitioners and news outlets reporting on Hong Kong in the city and abroad.
The IFJ said: “The use of the draconian National Security Law and archaic sedition legislation to silence critical and independent voices in Hong Kong must cease. The IFJ urges the Hong Kong authorities to conduct an impartial trial, drop all charges against Jimmy Lai, and release him immediately. International governments, civil society, press freedom groups, and media organisations must pay close attention to Lai’s trial and continue to exert pressure for a just verdict.”