Hong Kong judges have once again postponed the trial of media tycoon Jimmy Lai, this time until prison authorities provide him with a heart monitor and the right medication.
The 77-year-old founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily has been in jail since December 2020, reportedly kept in solitary confinement. On Friday, his lawyer Robert Pang told the court Lai had suffered heart palpitations and a sense of “collapsing,” though he stressed the publisher didn’t want the spotlight on his health.
It’s the second delay this week. Court sessions were already suspended Thursday because of bad weather. The three-judge panel has now adjourned proceedings until Monday.
Lai is charged with foreign collusion under Hong Kong’s sweeping national security law, imposed by Beijing after the city’s 2019 pro-democracy protests. He also faces a “seditious publication” charge tied to 161 op-eds carrying his byline. If convicted of collusion, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.
Rights groups and Western governments have been following the case closely.
“The prolonged detention of Jimmy Lai not only destroys Hong Kong’s historic reputation as a free and open society, but also as a trusted hub for business,” said CPJ regional director Beh Lih Yi.
The trial, which opened in December 2023, is now nearing its end, but Lai’s health scare has cast another shadow over proceedings.
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