Hong Kong publisher’s national security trial postponed

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HONG KONG (AP) — The trial of a Hong Kong newspaper publisher who was arrested in a crackdown on a pro-democracy movement was postponed Thursday after the territory’s leader asked China to effectively block him from hiring a British defense lawyer.

Jimmy Lai, 74, faces a possible life sentence if convicted under a national security law imposed by the ruling Communist Party on the former British colony. The government objected after judges on Monday approved Lai’s plan to hire Timothy Owen, a veteran human rights lawyer.


FILE – Democracy advocate Jimmy Lai leaves Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal where the government is arguing against allowing him bail in Hong Kong, Feb. 1, 2021. Lai broke into the media industry about 30 years ago armed with the belief that delivering information equates with delivering freedom. Lai now is accused of endangering national security with his now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu, File)