Court Hears Jimmy Lai's Plea for Shorter Prison Term
Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and former media tycoon Jimmy Lai is back in court this week for a mitigation hearing before his official sentencing, after having been found guilty on national security charges. Over a hundred supporters queued outside the courthouse to hear Lai's plea for a reduced sentence.
REPORTER:
Less than a month after his conviction on national security charges, Jimmy Lai arrives back at this Hong Kong courthouse. This time, the former media tycoon and pro-democracy activist is pleading for a shorter sentence.
REPORTER:
Lai, who founded the now defunct Apple Daily, was found guilty in December of colluding with foreign governments and publishing seditious materials. He could now spend the rest of his life in prison.
REPORTER:
Over a hundred of his supporters lined up outside on Monday.
REPORTER:
Lai’s case is one of the most high-profile under a Beijing-imposed national security law rolled out after large-scale pro-democracy protests rocked the city.
REPORTER:
Authorities arrested him in late 2020 shortly after the law took effect and kept him detained in isolation for nearly five years.
REPORTER:
Several countries including the US and UK, where Lai holds citizenship, have condemned his trial.
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But Hong Kong authorities say his conviction is legitimate and that foreign media should stop interfering with China’s internal politics.
John Lee (HONG KONG CHIEF EXECUTIVE):
And these (foreign media) organisations' objective is to obscure Lai's shameless acts and subversive action, as an agent of external forces, to infiltrate and brainwash young people.
REPORTER:
But some activists say public outrage over the national security law was sparked by the law itself, not from outside reporting on it.
REPORTER:
They say Lai’s case shows just what the law is capable of and laid bare the city’s eroding freedoms.
Frances Hui (PRO-DEMOCRACY ACTIVIST):
People are scared. They have been censoring themselves in the past five years for obvious reasons, because pretty much anyone who comes out of ordinary to protest or have any acts of like very simple acts of resistance can be seen as a big dissident and can be arrested.
REPORTER:
The days-long hearing comes before Lai is officially sentenced. The 78 year old’s health, which many believe is deteriorating, appeared to be key to Monday’s opening arguments.
REPORTER:
And with this case now in the final stage, activists and supporters are watching closely how Hong Kong’s justice system will act and what it could mean for them.
