Hong Kong Top Court Upholds Jimmy Lai’s Protest Conviction
(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong’s highest court upheld former media mogul Jimmy Lai’s conviction for joining a banned pro-democracy protest, a move that comes as the city’s judiciary faces increased scrutiny due to a string of departures by foreign judges.
Most Read from Bloomberg
How Chicago’s Gigantic Merchandise Mart Is Still Thriving as Office Space
Gottheimer Calls for Rail Riders to Be Reimbursed for Delays
Los Angeles Sees Remote Work Helping ‘No Car’ 2028 Olympic Games
The Court of Final Appeal on Monday unanimously dismissed the request from Lai and six former lawmakers who were seeking to have their convictions for joining an unlawful demonstration in August 2019 overturned. A lower court earlier had cleared the seven of a charge of organizing that rally but upheld their guilty verdict for participating in it.
It was the first time that the city’s top court examined a conviction of Lai’s role in a protest. The ruling comes after a prominent UK judge, Jonathan Sumption, resigned from the court in June. He warned of a “grave danger” to the rule of law in the finance hub because of Beijing’s tightening grip.
He also warned that Hong Kong was “slowly becoming a totalitarian state.” Hong Kong’s leader, Chief Executive John Lee, hit back at Sumption, saying he was free to like the political system or not but said his job was to interpret and apply the law.
A non-permanent justice from the UK, former president of the UK Supreme Court David Neuberger, was one of the five judges who heard the case.
Lai and the six other defendants joined protests opposing a government proposal to allow extradition to China in 2019. The demonstrations derailed the bill and escalated into a broader movement against police actions and demanding greater freedoms, prompting Beijing to impose a national security law the next year that crushed dissent.
Lai, who is already serving prison sentences for a range of offenses related to his activism, is facing more severe charges of collusion with foreign forces under the Beijing-drafted legislation in a separate trial.
Any conviction of Lai risks further inflaming ties between China and the US and the UK, which are among countries that have called for his release.
Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek
Inside Worldcoin’s Orb Factory, Audacious and Absurd Defender of Humanity
New Breed of EV Promises 700 Miles per Charge (Just Add Gas)
There’s a Gender Split in How US College Grads Are Tackling a More Difficult Job Market
The Fake Indian Cricket League Created for Real Online Betting
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
