A court in Hong Kong adjourned a national security trial hearing of media mogul Jimmy Lai on Friday, due to concerns about his health, after his defense said he had been experiencing heart palpitations.
Lai, a pro-democracy firebrand and founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily, showed up in court visibly thinner on Friday morning for the start of closing arguments of his landmark national security case.
The 77-year-old has spent more than 1,600 days in a maximum-security Hong Kong prison, much of it in solitary confinement, staring down the possibility of spending the rest of his life behind bars if convicted.
Friday’s hearing, which was already delayed on Thursday due to a major rainstorm, lasted roughly 15 minutes after the court heard about Lai’s health conditions from his defense team.
Lai’s defense lawyer Robert Pang SC told the judges that Lai had “some episodes that he felt he was collapsing” and had been experiencing palpitations.
Lai was given a medical check-up, but prison staff have yet to provide him with medication and a Holter monitor, a device to record his heart activity, Pang said.
Prosecutors said a team of medical professionals were on standby at the court Friday to address Lai’s medical needs.
But judge Alex Lee said it was “prudent” not to start until Lai’s medical needs have been attended to, and adjourned the session to Monday.
In a statement after the hearing, the Hong Kong government said Lai was certified by doctors to be physically and mentally fit to attend the hearing.
“The Correctional Services Department is committed to ensuring that the custodial environment is secure, safe, humane, appropriate and healthy, and that an environment with good ventilation, appropriate and timely medical support as well as healthy and nutritious meals are provided,” it said, adding the medical care provided by prison authority was “adequate and comprehensive.”
Jimmy Lai’s son Sebastien Lai told CNN ahead of the hearing that he was deeply concerned about his father’s deteriorating health.
“He’s 77 this year, turning 78 at the end of the year, any type of incarceration is incredibly worrying for his health, never mind the solitary confinement and the diabetes,” he said, calling his father’s prolonged solitary confinement “a form of torture.”
“And during the summer, Hong Kong goes up to 30, almost 40 degrees, and he’s in a little concrete cell, so he bakes in there. We’re incredibly worried about him.”
The Hong Kong government said it strongly condemns what it calls “misleading statements” about the treatment of Jimmy Lai in custody.
“The remarks by Sebastien Lai regarding Lai Chee-ying’s solitary confinement are completely fact-twisting, reflecting a malicious intention to smear and attack the HKSAR Government,” it said in a statement, adding Lai had requested his removal from general prison population.
The closing arguments are expected to take eight days and it could be weeks, or even months, before the judges render their verdict.
Lai, a British national, stands accused of two counts of colluding with foreign forces – a crime punishable by life in prison under the 2020 national security law imposed by Beijing – and a separate sedition charge. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The outspoken founder of Apple Daily – a fiercely pro-democracy tabloid newspaper known for years of blistering broadsides against the Chinese Communist party until its forced closure – has become a symbol of Beijing’s sweeping national security crackdown on the once-freewheeling financial hub.
US President Donald Trump has previously vowed to see him freed and confirmed in a Fox News radio interview on Thursday that Lai’s ultimate fate was part of ongoing negotiations with Beijing.
“I’m going to be bringing it up, and I’ve already brought it up, and I’m going to do everything I can to save him,” Trump said.
“You can also understand, President Xi would not be exactly thrilled by doing it,” Trump said, referring to China’s leader Xi Jinping. “With all of that being said, his name (has) already entered the circle of things that we’re talking about, and we’ll see what we can do.”
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
