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A Hong Kong court postponed Jimmy Lai’s national security trial due to health concerns. Lai, 77, has been in solitary confinement for over 1,600 days.
Jimmy Lai is a prominent voice in Hong Kong’s struggle for a democratic government, earning him the ire of the Communist Party of China (CPC) (Image: Reuters)
A Hong Kong court on Friday adjourned a national security trial hearing of media mogul Jimmy Lai due to concerns about his health after his defence said he had been experiencing heart palpitations.
A pro-democracy firebrand and founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily, Lai, showed up in court visibly thinner on Friday morning for the start of closing arguments of his landmark national security case.
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The 77-year-old has spent over 1,600 days in a maximum-security Hong Kong prison, much of it in solitary confinement, facing the prospect of spending the rest of his life behind bars if found guilty.
Friday’s hearing, which was already delayed on Thursday due to a major rainstorm, lasted roughly 15 minutes after the court heard about Lai’s health conditions from his defence team.
CNN quoted Lai’s defence lawyer, Robert Pang SC, who told the judges that Lai had “some episodes that he felt he was collapsing” and had been experiencing palpitations.
Lai underwent a medical check-up, but prison staff have not yet provided him with medication or a Holter monitor — a device used to record heart activity — Pang said.
Prosecutors said a team of medical professionals were on standby at the court on Friday to address Lai’s medical needs.
But judge Alex Lee adjourned the session to Monday, saying it was “prudent” not to start until Lai’s medical needs have been attended to.
Jimmy Lai’s son, Sebastien Lai, told CNN ahead of the hearing that he was deeply concerned about his father’s deteriorating health.
“He’s 77 this year, turning 78 at the end of the year, any type of incarceration is incredibly worrying for his health, never mind the solitary confinement and the diabetes,” he said, calling his father’s prolonged solitary confinement “a form of torture.”
“And during the summer, Hong Kong goes up to 30, almost 40 degrees, and he’s in a little concrete cell, so he bakes in there. We’re incredibly worried about him.”
The Hong Kong government said it “strongly condemns” what it described as “misleading statements” regarding Jimmy Lai’s treatment in custody.
“The remarks by Sebastien Lai regarding Lai Chee-ying’s solitary confinement are completely fact-twisting, reflecting a malicious intention to smear and attack the HKSAR Government,” it said in a statement, adding Lai had requested his removal from the general prison population.
Closing arguments are expected to last eight days, and it may take weeks or even months for the judges to deliver their verdict.
Lai, a British national, is charged with two counts of colluding with foreign forces — an offence under Beijing’s 2020 national security law that carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment — along with a separate sedition charge. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
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