Hong Kong-based Apple Daily founder and staff member Reuters is facing a new sedition charge

By James Pomfret and Sara Cheng

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong prosecutors on Tuesday filed a “seditious publication” complaint against jailed media mogul Jimmy Lai, who has already been accused of stifling liberties with the Asian financial center.

Lai, 74, the founder of the pro-democracy Apple (NASDAQ 🙂 Daily newspaper, appeared in court along with six other former Apple Daily employees. Authorities closed the daily tabloid in June after searching the newspaper, arresting workers and freezing them for national security reasons and freezing their belongings.

Laik has two charges under a national security law imposed on Beijing by the former British colony in June last year, including solidarity with a foreign country.

Additional charges of sedition accuse Lai of conspiring to print, publish, sell and distribute “seditious publications” between April 2019 and June 24, 2021.

The prosecutor says the publications could “lead to hatred or contempt or disaffection” against the Hong Kong and Chinese governments, according to the indictment page seen by Reuters.

Lai is one of the most prominent people to be prosecuted under the national security law established in June 2020 to punish terrorism, solidarity with foreign forces, subversion and secession with possible life imprisonment.

Lair’s repeated arrests and trials have sparked criticism from Western governments and international rights groups, who say the law has been used to imprison numerous pro-democracy campaigns, suppress dissent and imprisonment including press freedoms.

Hong Kong and Chinese authorities say the law has restored stability in 2019 after lengthy protests for democracy.

Lai has been convicted in several cases of unauthorized assembly. He has been in custody for more than a year and is now in the highest security Stanley Jail, according to two sources familiar with the matter.

The same conspiracy to produce seditious publications was filed against six former Apple Daily employees, including editor-in-chief Ryan Law; Chan Pui-man Deputy Editor-in-Chief; Cheung Kim-hung, CEO of Next Digital, Apple’s main media company; Columnist Yeung Ching-kee; Editor of the English edition of Fung Wai-kong; and senior editor Lam Man-chung.

The six are also accused of “conspiracy to cooperate with a foreign country or foreign elements.”

Magistrate Peter Law postponed the case until February 24. Until then, all defendants will remain in jail.