Mitigation hearing set for Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai ahead of his sentencing

HONG KONG – Hong Kong’s High Court is set to hear the mitigation plea of pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai on Monday, the final step before sentencing in a landmark national security trial that has drawn widespread international criticism and could see Lai face life imprisonment.

Lai, 78, was found guilty last month of two charges: conspiracy to collude with foreign forces under a China-imposed national security law, and conspiracy to publish seditious material. The verdict was condemned by the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, and other international observers. Lai has denied all charges.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the ruling demonstrated “the enforcement of Beijing’s laws to silence those who seek to protect freedom of speech and other fundamental rights.”

A long-standing critic of the Chinese Communist Party, Lai is the founder of the now-closed pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper. He is the highest-profile figure to face prosecution under a years-long national security crackdown in the city following the mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Judges noted that Lai had used his influence and the Apple Daily tabloid “to carry out a consistent campaign with a view to undermine the legitimacy or authority” of China and Hong Kong. They added that some of Lai’s evidence was “contradictory, inconsistent, evasive and unreliable.”

Eight other defendants have pleaded guilty, with five becoming prosecution witnesses. Among them are Cheung Kim-hung, former CEO of Lai’s once-listed company Next Digital; Apple Daily’s former associate publisher Chan Pui-man; and former editorial writer Yeung Ching-kee.

Mitigation hearings for all defendants are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. (0200 GMT) and are expected to last four days. Sentencing will follow at a later date.

Lai, a British citizen, has been held in solitary confinement for more than 1,800 days. Two of his children have warned that his health has deteriorated, stating that if he were to die in prison, it would cause “irreparable damage to Hong Kong’s reputation.”

Earlier this month, former U.S. President Donald Trump said in an interview that he had asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to release Lai, whom he described as a “positive activist,” but had not yet received a response.

Five experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council have also called for Lai’s release on humanitarian grounds, saying his conviction reflects “a dramatic decline in fundamental freedoms and judicial independence.”

Hong Kong authorities maintain that Lai received a fair trial and say the national security law has helped restore stability in the city.

For more on Jimmy Lai’s case:

The national security trial of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai

Hong Kong's legal clampdown on Jimmy Lai, tycoon and China critic

Jimmy Lai, Hong Kong tycoon and democratic firebrand who stood up to China

-Reporting by Jessie Pang and James Pomfret; Editing by Kate Mayberry/Reuters