Who is Jimmy Lai, Hong Kong’s jailed media tycoon?

Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai’s nationalist information proceedings has wrapped up aft astir 2 years of proceedings.

The lawsuit against Lai, 77, has drawn the attraction of satellite leaders and planetary rights groups, with observers intimately watching the result arsenic a barometer of the fiscal hub’s regularisation of instrumentality and freedoms.

Closing arguments successful the proceedings finished connected Thursday, pursuing repeated delays owed to atrocious upwind and concerns implicit Lai’s health, with the day for the verdict to beryllium acceptable astatine a aboriginal date.

Here’s what you request to know:

Who is Jimmy Lai?

Long earlier his nationalist information trial, Lai was known arsenic 1 of Hong Kong’s astir celebrated rags-to-riches stories.

After fleeing China for then-British Hong Kong arsenic a kid successful the 1950s, helium built up a concern empire successful the metropolis implicit respective decades.

His concern interests included the now-shuttered pro-democracy tabloid Apple Daily.

Lai was known arsenic 1 of the fewer members of Hong Kong’s concern elite to criticise the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which took power of Hong Kong successful 1997, and openly enactment the city’s ideology movement.

Steve Tsang, manager of the SOAS China Institute successful the United Kingdom, said Lai’s activism enactment a people connected his backmost for prosecution.

“From Beijing’s perspective, Jimmy Lai stands retired arsenic helium is the highest illustration and [most] persistent tycoon who utilized his luck to enactment the ideology question successful Hong Kong, and frankincense challenges the authorization of the CCP,” Tsang told Al Jazeera.

“To them, this makes Lai a traitor who indispensable beryllium severely punished,” Tsang said, adding that the Chinese authorities judge Lai indispensable beryllium reprimanded successful a “high-profile mode to scare others from pursuing the aforesaid path”.

What are the charges?

Lai was arrested successful August 2020, soon aft Beijing imposed a nationalist information instrumentality connected Hong Kong, criminalising secession, subversion, coercion and collusion with overseas forces.

After galore delays to the commencement of his trial, tribunal proceedings yet got nether mode successful December 2023.

Lai faces 2 counts of conspiring with overseas forces nether the Beijing-decreed nationalist information law, and 1 number of sedition nether a colonial-era statute.

Prosecutors person accused Lai of encouraging Hong Kong residents to articulation antigovernment protests that swept the metropolis successful 2019, and urging the United States and different overseas countries to authorisation the Hong Kong and Chinese governments.

If recovered blameworthy nether the nationalist information law, Lai could look beingness imprisonment.

Lai, who has already been convicted of aggregate offences successful abstracted cases related to unauthorised assembly and fraud, has pleaded not blameworthy to each charges.

Why is his proceedings controversial?

The charges against Lai person been portrayed by United Nations observers and Western governments arsenic politically motivated.

There person besides been galore irregularities passim his prosecution, according to Eric Yan-ho Lai, a probe chap astatine the Georgetown Center for Asian Law successful Washington, DC.

“He has been enactment successful solitary confinement and is suffering from arbitrary detention,” Lai, who is nary relation, told Al Jazeera, citing findings by the UN Working Group connected Arbitrary Detention.

“He has been convicted connected aggregate charges of nationalist bid and commercialized fraud, but analysts saw that was a maneuver to support him successful jailhouse arsenic a captive earlier his proceedings commenced.”

Lai besides noted that the tycoon was besides denied his lawyer of choice, London-based Timothy Owen, aft Beijing overrode the Hong Kong courts to artifact his engagement successful the lawsuit connected nationalist information grounds.

What does Hong Kong say?

The Hong Kong authorities has said Lai’s lawsuit is being “handled strictly connected the ground of grounds and successful accordance with the law”, and characterised disapproval of the proceedings arsenic a “smear campaign”.

The authorities has besides warned that commenting connected the lawsuit could beryllium seen arsenic “an effort to interfere with the tribunal to workout judicial powerfulness independently” and “constitute perverting the tribunal of justice”.

Hong Kong authorities person besides repeatedly defended the nationalist information instrumentality from disapproval by Western governments and quality rights groups, arguing that the authorities was indispensable to reconstruct bid and stableness to the erstwhile British colony aft the 2019 protests turned violent.

When is the verdict expected?

The tribunal has yet to acceptable a day for the verdict, but it could instrumentality weeks, oregon adjacent months, to denote its decision.

Lai’s guilt oregon innocence volition beryllium decided by 3 nationalist information judges chosen by the main enforcement of Hong Kong, who is answerable to Beijing.

Tsang said helium was “99.99 percent sure” the tribunal volition find Lai blameworthy connected each counts.

His presumption is shared by galore observers, fixed Lai’s prominence and accrued authorities power connected Hong Kong’s judicial system.

Since June 30, 2020, Hong Kong has arrested 271 radical for nationalist information offences, formally charged 147 individuals and organisations, and recovered 108 radical guilty, according to the US consulate successful Hong Kong.

In 2024, Hong Kong adopted a second, locally drafted nationalist information law, which covers treason, insurrection, sabotage, outer interference, sedition, and theft of authorities secrets and espionage.