Trial date of 7 defendants accused of sedition and collusion with foreign forces yet to be set
Hong Kong Catholic media tycoon and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai. (Photo: AFP)
Seven pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong, including Catholic media tycoon Jimmy Lai, are to plead not guilty in a trial over charges of sedition and collusion with foreign forces.
The other defendants are staff members of the now-defunct pro-democracy Apple Daily and its parent company Next Digital who are being prosecuted under a repressive national security law and a British colonial-era sedition law.
The defendants submitted the pleas to High Court Judge Esther Toh, Hong Kong Free Press (HKFP) reported.
This came shortly after John Lee Ka-Chiu, Hong Kong’s current Chief Executive, released the frozen funds of three companies now linked to the Apple Daily to hire legal representatives.
The pleas submitted by the defendants and the financial arrangements for the defendants and their companies were made public on Monday as part of a case management hearing by Judge Esther Toh.
During the hearing on Aug. 22, potential trial dates were discussed, however, no date was set by the judges.
A representative for the accused said that funds were in process of being transferred to the solicitors’ office and a lawyer for arguing the case is yet to be finalized.
"The only thing I can do is to be positive"
The prosecution, represented by Acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions (Special Duties) Anthony Chau, said that the prosecutor’s earliest availability was January next year.
Jimmy Lai is among the prominent pro-democracy leaders targeted by Beijing in a bid to quell the voice of dissent in Hong Kong by using the draconian National Security Law.
Lai was among the major financial backers of retired Cardinal Joseph Zen’s efforts to bring legal aid to pro-democracy activists.
In 2020, Cardinal Zen has previously revealed that what began as a HK$3 million (US$387,000) birthday present turned into donations of about $20 million — one-third of all donations that Lai made to various causes, many of them associated with the pro-democracy movement, the South China Morning Post reported.
Lai, who made his fortune through mid-market fashion chain Giordano before parlaying his wealth into media companies Next Media and the city’s leading anti-Beijing newspaper Apple Daily, had long been one of Beijing’s key targets in the city.
"I'm prepared for prison. If it comes, I will have the opportunity to read books I haven't read. The only thing I can do is to be positive, " Lai told the AFP news agency in a 2020 interview.
"Hundreds of politicians, activists, and supporters have been arrested"
The National Security Law criminalizes comments and actions deemed to be seditious, separatist, or broadly critical of the government.
Charges against Lai of collusion with foreign forces, sedition, and fraud could see him sentenced to life imprisonment if convicted.
Since Beijing imposed the National Security Law in June 2020 to crush pro-democracy protests in the former British colony, hundreds of politicians, activists, and supporters have been arrested and imprisoned.
Cardinal Zen, former bishop of Hong Kong, was arrested in May on charges of colluding with foreign forces for his association with the now-defunct humanitarian fund. However, he was released shortly following a global outrage.
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