By Jessie Pang and James Pomfret
HONG KONG, Dec 12 (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s High Court will hand down a verdict against pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai next Monday, according to a notice on the city’s judiciary website, in a landmark national security trial that has drawn international scrutiny.
Lai, 78, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, and a charge of conspiracy to publish seditious material in a case where he faces life imprisonment if convicted.
The 156-day trial, which began in December 2023, has become the most high-profile example of China’s crackdown on rights and freedoms in the Asian financial hub under a sweeping national security law that was imposed after mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.
Some countries, including the U.S., say the trial is politically motivated and have demanded Lai’s immediate release. U.S. President Donald Trump raised Lai’s case during a meeting with China’s leader Xi Jinping in South Korea in October.
His family and lawyers have said Lai’s health is deteriorating and he suffers from diabetes, as well as heart palpitations that require medication.
The Chinese and Hong Kong governments say he is being given a fair trial.
Lai stands accused of using the Apple Daily as a platform to conspire with six former executives and others to produce seditious publications between April 2019 and June 2021, and to collude with foreign forces between July 2020 and June 2021.
He was accused of conspiring with activist Andy Li, paralegal Chan Tsz-wah and others to invite foreign countries, including the U.S., Britain and Japan to impose sanctions, blockades and other hostile measures against Hong Kong and China.
(Reporting by Jessie Pang and James Pomfret; Editing by Saad Sayeed)
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