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2w ago

Jimmy Lai’s National Security Trial Enters Closing Arguments

Closing submissions at West Kowloon Court set the stage for an October verdict after years of delay under the 2020 security law.

People wait to enter the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts in Hong Kong on November 20, 2024, ahead of Hong Kong activist publisher Jimmy Lai's national security trial.
Jimmy Lai walks through the Stanley prison in Hong Kong on July 28, 2023.
Media mogul Jimmy Lai, founder of Apple Daily, arrives the Court of Final Appeal by prison van in Hong Kong, China February 1, 2021. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
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Overview

  • Lawyers will begin closing arguments on August 14 at West Kowloon Court, marking the last hearing before a three-judge panel considers the verdict.
  • Prosecutors accuse the 77-year-old media tycoon of colluding with foreign forces and publishing 161 seditious articles, offences that could carry life sentences.
  • Lai’s family and legal team contend he has faced prolonged solitary confinement, limited out-of-cell time and restricted medical access, which officials say has been adequate.
  • Hong Kong authorities have dismissed foreign criticism as smear campaigns and maintain the trial is strictly evidence-based and free of political interference.
  • The UK government continues to press for Lai’s release under the Sino-British Joint Declaration, citing his British citizenship and raising concerns over press freedom.