A Hong Kong court has rejected the jailed publisher Jimmy Lai’s request to have a jury trial for his libel case against a pro-Beijing newspaper. This decision comes as the latest setback for the activist who has faced multiple legal battles. Lai, the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, is a prominent activist in the city and was prosecuted under a sweeping national security law during Beijing’s crackdown on dissent. He has been a target of criticism by pro-Beijing media outlets for years.
The 76-year-old brought the libel case against Ta Kung Pao in 2020, claiming that the publication had maliciously suggested he was planning to illegally abscond from the city and breach his bail condition. However, on Thursday, judge Queeny Au Yeung ruled against Lai’s bid, stating that the case requires a prolonged examination of documents and is not suitable for a jury trial. Yeung mentioned in her judgement that the case is plainly not suitable for putting only one or some questions to the jury, leaving the rest to the trial judge.
The libel case revolves around an article published by Ta Kung Pao with the headline “Leaders who create chaos in Hong Kong plotting escape, escape route exposed, charge one million dollars,” on June 25, 2020. The article named Lai as a potential suspect who intended to abscond and evade criminal liability. The newspaper denied the libel charge.
Since the enforcement of the national security law in 2020, many of Hong Kong’s leading activists have been arrested, forced into self-exile, or silenced. Lai’s Apple Daily was forced to shut down following the arrests of its top management in 2021, which was widely seen as an erosion of promised freedoms when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.
Lai has faced setbacks in his landmark security trial, with judges rejecting his bid to dismiss a sedition charge against him last December. The court also declined to overturn the Hong Kong national security authorities’ decision to block him from hiring veteran British lawyer Timothy Owen. Lai is set to testify in court in his defense for the security trial next month. Currently serving a jail term of over five years after being convicted in a separate fraud case, Lai has been in custody since December 2020.
The U.S. and U.K. governments have called for Lai’s release and criticised the security law, which the Beijing and Hong Kong governments argue is necessary for the city’s stability. Despite these challenges, Lai continues to be a resilient figure in Hong Kong’s activism scene, advocating for freedom of expression and fighting against political suppression.