Mitigation pleas heard for 2nd day in Jimmy Lai’s national security case

已複製連結

Jimmy Lai, founder of Next Digital, and others charged with violating the Hong Kong National Security Law, had their mitigation requests heard in court on the second day.

The nine defendants were transported to the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts in prison vans for their trial this morning.

Police deployed a large number of officers outside the court.

Jimmy Lai's wife and other relatives of the defendants, as well as representatives of foreign consulates general in Hong Kong, continued to attend the hearing.

All nine defendants appeared in court, seated in the same seats as the previous day's hearing. Among them, some wore masks.

The court proceeded with mitigation proceedings. Former Apple Daily deputy editor-in-chief Chan Pui-man pleaded for leniency.

Her lawyer argued that the court should refer to past National Security Law cases, including the "Lui Sai-yu case" and the "Benny Tai case," to consider the defendant's degree of involvement, and believed the starting point for sentencing should be 10 years, with a 50% reduction in sentence.

The defense argued that Chan Pui-man's role was relatively unimportant. As the deputy editor-in-chief, she had less time for editorial work and less responsibility than Cheung Kim-hung.

She was only responsible for the print edition of the newspaper; she did not participate in other more influential content, such as the online edition.

The  judge raised concerns about whether Apple Daily employees should have been mindful of potential violations of the National Security Law after Jimmy Lai's arrest, and how to prove that Chan Pui-man did not continue the conspiracy.

The defense stated that Chan Pui-man had repeatedly opposed the directions proposed by Jimmy Lai, including the content of his talk shows and columns.