DST News: A Hong Kong court has found pro democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai guilty of sedition and colluding with foreign forces in the most prominent case yet under China’s national security law.

Lai, founder of the now closed Apple Daily newspaper, could face life in prison. The court has not announced a sentencing date.

The verdict prompted sharp criticism from the United States, Britain, and human rights groups, who described the case as politically motivated and damaging to Hong Kong’s freedoms and judicial independence. Beijing and the Hong Kong government maintain that Lai received a fair trial under the law.

Lai has been a vocal critic of Beijing for more than a decade and played a visible role during Hong Kong’s 2014 and 2019 pro democracy protests. Arrested in 2020, he has remained in custody since then. His newspaper was shut down in 2021 following police action under the security law.

Rights groups say the conviction reflects a broader erosion of civil liberties in Hong Kong since the introduction of the national security legislation.

Source: Reuters