The national security trial of Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been adjourned after his legal team told the court he felt unwell.
Lai, 76, who founded now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, has been detained since December 2020.
He has pleaded not guilty to two charges of conspiring to collude with foreign forces under the national security law – punishable by life imprisonment – and one count of conspiring to publish seditious materials.
Lai appeared in court on Monday, the 87th day of the trial, where his lawyer Robert Pang told the court that Lai was feeling unwell and trembling, local media reported.
Pang added that Lai had visited a doctor on Sunday night but had only been prescribed painkillers, and asked whether Lai could take leave from court to visit the doctor again.
High Court judge Esther Toh agreed and adjourned proceedings until Tuesday, adding that she hoped to hear from the doctor about Lai’s health conditions before 4 pm on Monday.
Toh added that the weather was bad on Monday and Lai was advanced in age. The judge suggested Lai have a check-up at hospital while the prosecution kept in touch with the police and the Correctional Services Department (CSD).
Three CSD officers escorted Lai out of the courtroom at around 11.40 am, local media reported.
Call for release of Jimmy Lai
Lai’s trial, which began after several delays last December, was originally slated to last for 80 days.
Western countries and organisations – including the US, the UK, the EU and UN – have urged for Lai’s release. Beijing has dismissed such calls as smears and interference.
“As a prominent and outspoken journalist and publisher, Jimmy Lai has been targeted in a clear attempt to stop the peaceful exercise of his rights to freedom of expression and association,” British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a statement issued on December 18, 2023. “I call on the Hong Kong authorities to end their prosecution and release Jimmy Lai. ”
In January, four UN experts called for all charges against the pro-democracy tycoon to be dropped, as they pressed for his immediate release.
Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong’s mini-constitution in June 2020 following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts – broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure. The move gave police sweeping new powers and led to hundreds of arrests amid new legal precedents, while dozens of civil society groups disappeared. The authorities say it restored stability and peace to the city, rejecting criticism from trade partners, the UN and NGOs.
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