A Hong Kong court Thursday found media tycoon Jimmy Lai not guilty of criminal intimidation - bringing to a conclusion one of several charges against the pro-democracy activist following his arrest early August under new security legislation.
The decision was in a case filed in 2017 and had no connection to his recent arrest. Lai has been among the most vocal critics of China, which enacted new strict policies in Hong Kong eliciting censure from Western leaders over the deepening clampdown on dissents there.
Lai had denied the allegations of "criminal intimidation" over an incident during a Tiananmen Square vigil three years ago. Hong Kong authorities, under the direction of China, detained Lai on a separate charge last month under the new law.
Wearing a light-gray suit and a face mask, Lai appeared happy after the decision was read. The courtroom was packed and Lai shook hands with several of his supporters.
The 71-year old newspaper publisher was apprehended Aug. 10 for allegedly working with foreign countries. He is the best-known figure to be taken into custody by the Hong Kong police under the new laws. His arrest shocked many in Hong Kong.
Lai's visit to Washington, when he met with the U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and State Secretary Mike Pompeo, resulted in China calling him a "traitor." Apple Daily - which Lai owns - has been spreading rumors, fanning animosity and "smearing Hong Kong authorities and the mainland for years," according to The Global Times, a daily tabloid newspaper run by the Chinese Communist Party's People's Daily newspaper.
China's latest security law punishes anything China's authorities deem subversive, terroristic and cooperating with foreign forces with up to life in prison.
Lai Chee-Ying was 12 years old when he fled his village in mainland China and arrived in Hong Kong as a stowaway on a fishing boat, according to a BBC profile following his August arrest. He went from working in a Hong Kong sweatshop to founding a multimillion-dollar empire. He founded Giordano, a clothing retailer, Next Digital, a Hong Kong-listed media company and, in 1995, popular newspaper Apple Daily.
