HONG KONG (Reuters) – A Hong Kong court on Friday rejected a bid by the legal team for pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai to have sedition charge against him dropped, in a closely watched national security trial.
Lai, 76, the founder of now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, was charged with conspiracy to publish seditious publications under a colonial-era sedition law.
Lai also faces two charges under a China-imposed national security law of conspiring to collude with foreign forces, which could see him jailed for life.
Lai has pleaded not guilty to all charges.