Diplomatic pressure builds on Hong Kong over Jimmy Lai trial

“We are not able to provide consular access because we are not allowed to visit him in prison.”

The Hong Kong government said all defendants received a fair trial under local laws, while warning any interference “could very likely” constitute the offence of contempt of court or perverting the course of justice.

“Any attempt by any country, organisation, or individual to interfere with the judicial proceedings ... by means of political power or media or any other means, thereby resulting in a defendant not being able to have a fair trial that one should receive, is a reprehensible act,” a spokesman said.

Mr Lai has faced a slew of litigation, including charges under a China-imposed national security law that was enacted in response to a wave of pro-democracy protests in 2019.

When Hong Kong reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997, Beijing promised the city a high degree of autonomy, including the right to free speech and protest.

Western critics say Beijing has reneged on those promises amid the national security law crackdown that has been used to arrest more than 280 pro-democracy activists and politicians, including Mr Lai.

Beijing, however, says the security law has brought stability to the city.

Mr Lai and others involved in the trial, including senior journalists at Apple Daily, face a conspiracy to publish seditious publications charge.

Mr Lai also faces foreign collusion charges that include allegations of calling on countries, including the US, to impose sanctions against the Hong Kong and Chinese governments between July 2020 and June 2021.

He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Mr Lai’s lawyer, Robert Pang, has so far sought to scrap or limit the timeframe of the prosecution’s sedition conspiracy charge, due to a requirement under local laws that charges must be brought within six months of an alleged offence.

“What the prosecution cannot do is to sit on their backsides, do nothing, and then two to three years down the road” bring the conspiracy to commit sedition charge, he said.

But the government prosecutor, Anthony Chau, called this argument absurd, saying Mr Lai and the Apple Daily had published a total of 161 seditious articles between April 1, 2019 and 24 June 2021 – when the newspaper was finally shut down following a police raid and a freeze on its assets that crippled its operations.

“Conspiracy by nature is continuing,” Mr Chau told the court, saying Mr Lai’s criminal enterprise to publish seditious articles over the entire period should be considered as a whole.

The judges later adjourned the trial to Friday when they are expected to deliver a decision on the sedition matter. The trial is expected to last 80 days.

Reuters