BEIJING, Dec 15 (Bernama-dpa) -- A Hong Kong court has convicted media tycoon Jimmy Lai, finding the founder of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily guilty of conspiring to collude with foreign forces and of publishing seditious materials, reported German news agency dpa.
According to the verdict, the 78-year-old was found guilty on all three charges, two of which related to colluding with foreign forces. He had pleaded not guilty to all counts and now faces a possible life sentence.
The sentence will be given at a later date yet to be set.
The trial began in December 2023 and extended far beyond its originally scheduled 80 days, concluding in late August after more than 150 days of hearings.
Lai, who also holds a British passport, founded Apple Daily, which was forced to shut down in 2021 after authorities launched investigations under a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing. The law criminalises acts deemed by Beijing to constitute sedition, secession and subversion.
Lai has already spent more than five years in prison after being convicted in earlier cases.
--BERNAMA-dpa
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