Judges in Hong Kong are set to deliver a verdict on Monday in the landmark national security trial of media tycoon and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai, concluding a case that has unfolded over five years and drawn sustained international attention.
Lai, 78, the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges under sweeping security legislation introduced amid the city’s political upheaval.
The case has become one of the most prominent legal tests of Hong Kong’s national security framework and its impact on media freedom and dissent.
Lai faces two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, offenses that carry a potential sentence of life imprisonment.
Prosecutors have cited meetings between Lai and foreign officials in the United States, Britain, and Japan, arguing that he sought sanctions against China and Hong Kong.
He has also pleaded not guilty to a charge of conspiring to publish seditious material through Apple Daily, a newspaper that was sharply critical of Beijing before shutting down.
The 156-day trial, which began in December 2023, was heard by three judges appointed to handle national security cases rather than a jury.
Lai’s defense argued that his advocacy for sanctions ceased after the national security law took effect in 2020.
Some former colleagues testified against him during the proceedings in exchange for reduced sentences.
Lai has been imprisoned for five years, including time served for a separate fraud conviction related to a lease agreement.
His family has said his health has deteriorated during prolonged solitary confinement, citing diabetes, high blood pressure, and declining vision and hearing.
“My heart breaks thinking of his enduring five sweltering Hong Kong summers in a tiny, airless concrete box with a bed as tough as a wooden plank,” his daughter Claire Lai wrote in a recent editorial.
Hong Kong officials have said Lai is receiving adequate medical care and that his detention conditions meet required standards.
The verdict comes as Hong Kong remains on heightened security alert following a deadly apartment fire last month that killed at least 160 people.
Authorities have warned against what they describe as attempts by “anti-China forces” to exploit public tragedies, while critics say such measures further restrict space for dissent.
International governments, including the United States and Britain, have called for Lai’s release, while Chinese and Hong Kong officials maintain that the law is applied equally to safeguard national security.