Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong media tycoon who owned now shut pro-democracy publication Apple Daily will face a no-jury court. This is the latest deviation from city’s 177-year-old tradition of jury-trial. Lai is under arrest China’s controversial national security law. Hong Kong Secretary for Justice Paul Lam has ordered that Jimmy Lai’s trial will be heard three judges handpicked by the government.
AFP reported that the copy of the order cited, “involvement of foreign elements” in the case, the “personal safety of jurors and their family members” and the “risk of perverting the course of justice if the trial is conducted with a jury”.
So far authorities have rejected jury trials for all three major cases that have made it to the High Court, where defendants can face up to life in prison. Lai, 74, is one of Hong Kong’s best-known democracy activists and is openly loathed by Beijing.
Lai’s Apple Daily newspaper had been very vocal in its criticism of China’s Communist Party. The newspaper openly supported democracy. The tabloid shut down last year when China froze its funds. Many of the senior staff of the newspaper were charged with “collusion with foreign forces”, one of the new national security crimes.
On Monday, prosecutor Anthony Chau informed the court that six Apple Daily executives have indicated that they plan to plead guilty.
A guilty plea usually entitles defendants to a sentence reduction.
Lai, who is currently serving a protest-related sentence, plans to plead not guilty, meaning a full trial is expected towards the end of the year or early next year, the court heard.
(With inputs from agencies)
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