The trial of pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai for “collusion with foreign forces”, during which he risks life in prison, opened in Hong Kong on Monday after calls from Washington and London for his immediate release, rejected by China.
The British billionaire, making his first public appearance since 2021, arrived at the Hong Kong court on Monday morning wearing a suit, smiling and greeting members of his family.
Representatives from the American, British, Australian and Canadian consulates were present in the court room.
Mr. Lai, 76, is accused of “collusion with foreign forces” among other national security violations.
He has already been imprisoned for three years under a radical national security law, imposed by Beijing in 2020, a year after major pro-democracy demonstrations.
The trial, which is to take place in open court over the next 80 days, should make it possible to assess the level of civil liberties in Hong Kong and the independence of the judiciary from Beijing.
A large security system was deployed around the court in front of which residents had waited all night in the cold to hope to attend.
Among them, Alexandra Wong, an activist better known as “Grandma Wong,” shouted: “Support Apple Dailysupport Jimmy Lai” while waving the British flag, before being pulled away by the police.
“Older, Skinnier”
The daily owner Apple Dailyclosed in 2021, is one of the most famous figures of the pro-democracy movement.
His newspaper, a severe critic of Beijing, supported the major pro-democracy demonstrations of 2019 and called for international sanctions against Chinese and local authorities.
His case sparked condemnation from the international community.
“We urge the authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong to respect press freedom in Hong Kong” and to “immediately release Jimmy Lai and all others imprisoned for defending their rights,” the Hong Kong spokesperson said on Sunday. US Department of State, Matthew Miller.
For his part, British diplomat David Cameron declared that “Jimmy Lai was targeted in an obvious attempt to prevent the peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of expression and association.”
Mr. Cameron said he was particularly concerned by “the prosecutions initiated for political reasons” against the former press boss, calling on the Hong Kong authorities “to release Jimmy Lai”.
Beijing described the American and British reactions as a “blatant political maneuver”.
“The remarks by the United States and the United Kingdom on this matter constitute a serious violation of the spirit of the rule of law and the principles of international law […]. They constitute a blatant political maneuver,” said Wang Wenbin, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Monday.
This trial “undermines confidence in the rule of law” in Hong Kong, for its part affirmed on Monday the European Union, which will follow “with attention” the trial, which “harms the attractiveness of the city as a international business center”.
The dissident’s son, Sebastien Lai, told AFP on Saturday after a meeting with David Cameron in London, that the minister had described this matter as a “priority” and “had spoken about it with his counterpart Wang Yi”, the highest Chinese diplomat.
Recently discovering photos in the press of his father appearing “older, thinner” in the courtyard of his prison, Sebastien Lai confided that he was “heartbroken”.
“I have no illusions about the independence of Hong Kong’s justice system,” he added.
Jimmy Lai will be tried, without a jury, by three judges chosen by the leader of Hong Kong from a group of hand-picked magistrates.
His imprisonment since Hong Kong’s highest court denied his release on bail in late 2020 marked a shift in Hong Kong’s pre-trial detention.
Lai’s lawyer, Robert Pang, argued Monday that the charge should be dropped on the grounds that Hong Kong’s criminal law imposes a time limit on such prosecutions and that the government had waited too long.
Prosecutors “have run out of time, so the court has no jurisdiction,” Ms.e Pang, making an argument that dominated Monday’s hearing.
“Parody of justice”
Since Hong Kong’s national security law took effect in 2020, rights advocates say it has muzzled dissent and reduced civil liberties.
According to Reporters Without Borders, more than 100 media executives from around the world co-signed a statement earlier this year calling for Lai’s release.
“We ask the court to respect the rule of law and, if it does, it should naturally close the case,” Cédric Alviani of RSF told AFP on Friday.
The Committee to Protect Journalists for its part considered Friday that this trial was “a travesty of justice”.