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Jimmy Lai reaches court for the verdict
He was led in handcuffs through his newsroom as more than 200 authorities officers robbed the building in remarkable scenes streamed live by his Apple Daily paper.
While the arrest shocked numerous in Hong Kong, it was welcomed by Chinese state media where he is knocked as a traitor.
The Global Times said Apple Daily had been “instigating hatred, smearing and spreading rumours Hong Kong authorities and the mainland for years”.
Who is Jimmy Lai?
The millionaire mogul showed up in Hong Kong as a stowaway on a fishing boat.
He swiftly worked his method up from sweatshops to make his fortune in the clothes industry prior to establishing Apple Daily in 1995.
A paper that began as a local tabloid turned into a basic bearer for the citys pro-democracy movement, unafraid to challenge leaders in Hong Kong and mainland China.
Mr Lai is one of the only tycoons in the area who is openly critical of Beijing and he was a prominent supporter of the months-long reform demonstrations that swept Hong Kong in 2015.
A Hong Kong court has found media mogul Jimmy Lai innocent of daunting a photojournalist from a competing newspaper three years back.
Mr Lai had denied the charge of “criminal intimidation” over a 2017 incident at a Tiananmen massacre vigil.
Last month authorities detained the democracy activist in a different case under a questionable new security law.
He is likewise dealing with a number of other charges over in 2015s anti-government demonstrations.
The 71-year-olds arrest in August sparked global condemnation of the escalating crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong.
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Media captionJimmy Lai tells the BBC what occurred on the day of his arrestIn June, when the national security law was troubled the city by Beijing, Mr Lai told the BBC it “spells the death knell for Hong Kong”.
Less than 2 months later on he ended up being the highest-profile figure to be apprehended under the legislation.
Speaking after his release on bail in August, Mr Lai said he thought his arrest was “just the start”.
There will be “a long battle” ahead for Hong Kongs liberties, he stated.
What is this newest case about?
The not-guilty verdict on Thursday is connected to a 2017 clash with a press reporter from Oriental Daily News, a paper viewed as pro-Beijing that is a strong rival to Apple Daily.
The fracas occurred during a yearly candlelight vigil to mark the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown in Beijing.
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The Hong Kong paper that pushed the border
5 flashpoints in Hong Kongs year of anger
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At trial the press reporter affirmed that he had felt threatened when Mr Lai stated he would “tinker” him after he recorded the businessman and photographed at the occasion, reported the South China Morning Post.
It included that in a video interview with cops, played in court, Mr Lai said the reporter had actually been pursuing and photographing him for years before the 2017 encounter and he had actually felt provoked by the cam.
Cops had talked to Mr Lai about the incident in 2018 but the examination did not continue.
In February he was detained and charged with criminal intimidation.
On the very same day he was also charged with illegal assembly related to a prohibited anti-government demonstration in 2015.
What else is the magnate accused of?
Mr Lai has actually been jailed several times considering that February.
In April he was among 15 pro-democracy activists and former legislators arrested over protests in 2015.
Then in August Mr Lai was charged with taking part in Junes Tiananmen vigil, along with a minimum of 23 others. The yearly gathering was banned in Hong Kong for the very first time, with authorities mentioning coronavirus fears.
Jimmy Lai leaves the police headquarters after being launched on bail last month
The most significant arrest came a few days later on 10 August in the biggest authorities operation since the security law was passed.
Mr Lai and 9 other activists, consisting of Agnes Chow, were apprehended over claims consisting of “collusion with foreign forces”.
, if charged and convicted under the security law they could deal with up to life in prison.
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