By Jessie Pang and James Pomfret
HONG KONG, Jan 13 (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s High Court wrapped up mitigation hearings on Tuesday for media tycoon and China critic Jimmy Lai, in a final step before the sentencing phase of a years-long national security trial that has drawn international scrutiny.
Lawyers for Lai and eight defendants, including senior former staffers of his pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper, laid out the case for lighter sentences over two days, with a sentencing date to be announced later.
“There are a lot of legal issues, and important questions of law that need to be handled,” said Alex Lee, one of the panel of three judges.
Lai, 78, the founder of the now shuttered paper, was found guilty last month on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces under a China-imposed national security law, and a conspiracy to publish seditious materials.
Lai denied all the charges against him, saying in court he was a “political prisoner” facing persecution from Beijing.
His trial began in December 2023 and he has spent more than 1,800 days in solitary confinement.
Foreign diplomats from countries including Britain, the European Union and the United States, attended Tuesday’s hearing.
Lai’s judgment had found him guilty of colluding with individuals, officials and politicians in various countries to seek the “downfall of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)”.
Hong Kong authorities say Lai has received a fair trial and the national security law has restored stability to the Asian financial hub after mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.
Erik Shum, the lawyer for Lam Man-chung, the paper’s former senior editor, said he should receive a lighter sentence for his “very limited role” in the conspiracy.
Those with less significant roles should get more lenient sentences, Shum added, citing the national security law and previous judgements, irrespective of whether the nature of the conspiracy was found to be “grave”.
Lee, the judge, however, suggested that such offences could fall within the heaviest sentencing band, starting from 10 years to life, under certain articles of the national security law.
Marco Li, the lawyer for Chan Pui-man, the paper’s former associate publisher, said her limited responsibility in overseeing the print edition merited a starting point of 10 years if the court put her in the upper sentencing band.
LAI’S HEALTH
Lai and his family did not submit any mitigation letters, his family said, but his worsening health has been a factor in an international push to free him.
U.S. president Donald Trump asked China’s leader Xi Jinping to release Lai in an October meeting in South Korea, but still awaits a reply. The leaders are set to meet again in April.
In a social media video on Tuesday, one of Lai’s daughters, Claire, rebutted prosecution claims that Lai had sought solitary confinement for his own protection.
“My father is in a cell on his own that is smaller and older than most,” she said, adding that Lai was denied outdoor exercise and placed in a cell with a blocked-off window that let in no sunlight.
Hong Kong’s correctional services department made no response to a request for comment on Lai’s jail conditions.
(Reporting by James Pomfret and Jessie Pang; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
