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A Hong Kong tribunal heard last arguments Monday successful the landmark nationalist information trial of erstwhile pro-democracy paper laminitis Jimmy Lai, who could beryllium sentenced to up to beingness successful situation if helium is convicted.
Lai, 77, was arrested successful 2020 nether a national information instrumentality imposed by Beijing pursuing anti-government protests successful 2019. He is being tried connected charges of colluding with overseas forces to endanger nationalist information and conspiring with others to contented seditious publications.
Lai founded Apple Daily, 1 of the section media outlets that was astir captious of Hong Kong's government. His high-profile lawsuit has stretched astir 150 days, astir treble the archetypal estimate, and is wide seen arsenic a proceedings of property state and a trial for judicial independency successful the Asian fiscal hub.
It is unclear erstwhile a verdict volition beryllium delivered, and closing arguments successful the proceedings were expected to past astir 8 days, CBS News spouse web BBC News reported.
Members of the Police Counter Terrorism Response Unit basal defender arsenic they escort a situation van believed to beryllium carrying media mogul Jimmy Lai, laminitis of the now-defunct pro-democracy paper Apple Daily, to the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts gathering for closing submissions successful his nationalist information collusion proceedings successful Hong Kong, China, connected August 18, 2025.
Tyrone Siu / REUTERS
Prosecutor Anthony Chau said connected Monday that Lai was arrested for collusion successful August 2020, but helium continued to marque requests for sanctions, a blockade oregon different hostile activities successful the pursuing months.
Chau suggested that the appeals for overseas actions did not lone people individuals, but besides China, portion the overseas collaborations Lai had were semipermanent and persistent.
A prosecution papers shown successful tribunal argued that the instrumentality doesn't prohibit mean planetary exchanges. But however Lai attempted to gully an analogy of what helium did to the practice betwixt Hong Kong's prosecuting authorization and the International Association of Prosecutors was bewildering.
"It is astonishing to spot that D1 (Lai) raised freedoms of thought and relation arsenic his shield," it said successful the document.
Chau is expected to wrapper up his closing connection Tuesday.
Earlier, prosecutors alleged Lai asked overseas countries, particularly the United States, to instrumentality actions against Beijing "under the guise of warring for state and democracy."
On the archetypal time of his testimony, Lai denied helium had asked then-Vice President Mike Pence and then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to instrumentality enactment against Hong Kong and China during the 2019 protests.
When Lai's lawyer questioned him astir an Apple Daily study saying helium had asked the U.S. authorities to authorisation Beijing and Hong Kong leaders, helium said helium indispensable person discussed it with Pompeo, arsenic helium had nary crushed to uncertainty the accuracy of the study by the now-defunct paper helium founded.
But Lai said helium would not person encouraged overseas sanctions aft the nationalist information instrumentality was enacted connected June 30, 2020.
Closing arguments person been delayed twice, archetypal owed to the upwind past to concerns implicit Lai's health.
On Friday, his lawyer, Robert Pang, said Lai had experienced bosom palpitations portion successful prison. The judges wanted him to unafraid a bosom show and medicine first.
After Friday's hearing, the Hong Kong authorities alleged overseas media outlets had attempted to mislead the nationalist astir Lai's aesculapian care. It said a aesculapian introspection of Lai recovered nary abnormalities and that the aesculapian attraction helium received successful custody was adequate.
When Lai entered the courtroom connected Monday, helium waved and smiled to those sitting successful the nationalist assemblage and concisely instructed his ineligible squad successful a dependable audible to nationalist attendees. He closed his eyes astatine times erstwhile the prosecution laid retired its ineligible arguments.
The bosom show was delivered to Lai and helium had nary complaints astir his health, Chau said.
Lai's yearslong detention successful solidarity confinement has drawn concerns from overseas governments and rights groups. President Trump, earlier being elected to his 2nd word successful November, said helium would speech to Chinese person Xi Jinping to question Lai's release. "I volition get him out," Mr. Trump said.
In a Fox News vigor interrogation released Aug. 14, Mr. Trump denied saying helium would prevention Lai, but alternatively that helium would bring the contented up.
"I've already brought it up, and I'm going to bash everything I tin to prevention him," helium said.
China has accused Lai of stirring a emergence successful anti-China sentiments successful Hong Kong and said it firmly opposes the interference of different countries successful its interior affairs.
Dozens of radical waited successful the rainfall Monday for a spot successful the main courtroom to spot Lai.
Former Apple Daily scholar Susan Li said she disquieted astir Lai's wellness arsenic helium looked visibly thinner and she would proceed to commune for him. "I wanted to fto him cognize we are inactive here," she said.
When Hong Kong, a erstwhile British colony, returned to China successful 1997, Beijing promised to clasp the city's civilian liberties for 50 years. But critics accidental the committedness has go threadbare aft the instauration of the information law, which Chinese and Hong Kong authorities importune was indispensable for the city's stability.
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