Professional-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai has been discovered responsible of nationwide safety offences in Hong Kong.
The media tycoon and British citizen, 78, was arrested in August 2020 after China imposed a nationwide safety legislation following huge anti-government protests in Hong Kong.
He had beforehand been sentenced for a number of lesser offences throughout his 5 years in jail.
He has been discovered responsible of all three expenses and may very well be sentenced later to life in jail.
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Jimmy Lai’s spouse Teresa arriving at West Kowloon Legislation Courts Constructing. Pic: AP
His trial, heard by three judges permitted by the federal government and not using a jury current, has been carefully monitored by the UK, the US, the European Union and political observers as a barometer of media freedom and judicial independence within the former British colony, which returned to Chinese language rule in 1997.
Responding to the decision, the Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong Basis’s UK and Europe director Mark Sabah stated in a press release: “This verdict ought to shock completely nobody. The trial in opposition to Jimmy Lai has been a present trial masquerading as justice. However what’s truly been on show is the whole and complete destruction of Hong Kong’s repute as a world authorized centre.
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Individuals wait to enter the constructing forward of the decision. Pic: AP
“Jimmy Lai is a British citizen. But instead of demanding the release of one of its own, the British government’s response has been years of timid action and kowtowing to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). By abandoning one of its citizens, the British government has sent a clear and shameful message: trade access to the CCP matters more than the rule of law, press freedom, or the safety of British nationals abroad.”
He added: “We now wait for whatever sentence the Hong Kong authorities and the CCP conjure up to bring this five-year charade to an end. But make no mistake, the fight for freedom and justice will go on, not just for Jimmy Lai but for all political prisoners in Hong Kong.”
The UK authorities has not but commented on the decision.
Solitary confinement
Mr Lai has spent greater than 1,800 days in solitary confinement. His household say his well being has worsened in consequence and that he suffers from diabetes, hypertension and coronary heart palpitations.
Picture:
Lai arriving at courtroom in 2020. Pic: AP
Sebastien stated his father’s demise wouldn’t simply be a private tragedy, however an enormous drawback for each the Hong Kong authorities and Beijing’s authorities.
“And if he dies, that’s it, that’s a comma on Hong Kong as a financial centre.”
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