Washington — After a monthslong delay, the national security trial of pro-democracy publisher Jimmy Lai is due to resume Wednesday in Hong Kong amid continued calls for his immediate release.
Founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, Lai has been held in solitary confinement since late 2020. His trial began in December 2023 and was initially estimated to last about 80 days.
Lai, 76, is expected to take the stand for the first time once the trial restarts.
Lai’s son Sebastien has been a staunch advocate for his father’s release. A top concern for Sebastien is the severe toll that years of solitary confinement have taken on his father.
“Given his age, given the fact that he is in the conditions that he’s in, there’s a danger to his life, and he could — it breaks my heart to say this — but he could pass away at any moment,” he told VOA in September.
The trial, which rights groups have decried as bogus, has been adjourned since July. Lai, a British national, is standing trial on charges of collusion with foreign forces and sedition, which he rejects.
The charges are widely viewed as politically motivated, but if convicted, Lai faces life in prison.
Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, head of Lai’s international legal team, said she expects the trial to continue into 2025.
“In any case, that would be very serious. But when you’re dealing with an elderly, diabetic prisoner, it’s a travesty,” Gallagher told VOA in September.
Last week, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention determined that Lai is unlawfully and arbitrarily detained in Hong Kong and has called for his immediate release.
And in September, Lai’s international legal team made an urgent appeal to the United Nations special rapporteur on torture, alleging that Lai was being denied specialized medical care for diabetes.
Last month, a Hong Kong government spokesperson rejected what they described as “unreasonable smears” that Lai is not receiving adequate medical care and said Hong Kong is “underpinned by the rule of law.”
Hong Kong authorities have also previously denied that Lai’s trial is unfair.
The journalist’s plight has come to symbolize the rapid deterioration of press freedom and the broader impact on civil liberties in Hong Kong following the implementation in 2020 of Beijing’s harsh national security law.
Lai’s case resonates with many Hong Kongers, multiple rights experts told VOA, because the one-time billionaire had the means to flee Hong Kong and avoid prison, but he instead chose to stay and fight for freedom.
“He’s doing it for the spirit of freedom, for the city, for the future of Hong Kong people — not for himself at all,” Yaqiu Wang, China research director at Freedom House, told VOA.
Although the United Kingdom has called for Lai’s release, the British government has faced criticism from rights groups and activists who say it isn’t doing enough to advocate on behalf of Lai.
On Monday, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer raised concerns about Lai in a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping during the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro.
“We are concerned by reports of Jimmy Lai’s deterioration,” Starmer said at the beginning of the meeting.
And earlier this month, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy met with Sebastien Lai.
“We will continue to press for his immediate release and for consular access,” Lammy said in a later statement about the senior Lai.
Lai’s trial is set to resume one day after dozens of prominent Hong Kong pro-democracy activists are sentenced in the largest case under the national security law. On Tuesday, 45 activists are scheduled to be sentenced under the harsh law.
The activists were among 47 people charged with conspiracy to commit subversion in 2021 for their involvement in an unofficial primary election to select opposition candidates.
Although Lai’s trial appears to be far from over, Sebastien Lai says he tries to remain optimistic.
“I’m sure I’ll see my father again,” Sebastien said, “and I won’t stop until he is free.”
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