Washington, (EFE).- USAUSA, rejected on Wednesday the conviction of Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai by a court in Hong Kong and assured that the charges filed against him are “false”.
“We condemn the verdict against democracy advocate Jimmy Lai … on trumped-up charges of fraud,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said in a statement.
The United States assured that, although this case against Lai, who founded the opposition newspaper Apple Daily, does not imply a violation of the controversial National Security Law, “the most restrictive legal procedures” that come from that regulation were applied to him.
“We remain very concerned about the deterioration in the protection of fundamental rights and the dismantling of fundamental freedoms” in Hong Kong, the US stressed.
On Tuesday, a Hong Kong court found Lai guilty of fraud against a government company for allowing a consulting company to operate without permission in the offices of the Apple Daily.
The tycoon in prison and is also pointed out by the court for organizing and participating in unauthorized anti-government protests.
The crime of fraud carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison, but is limited to seven years in a district court like the one that found Lai guilty.
The founder of the Apple Daily also awaits another trial for “conspiracy” under the National Security Law imposed by Beijing. It came into force on June 30, 2020, a year after an anti-government protest movement rocked the semi-autonomous city.
This law punishes “secession” or “collusion with foreign forces” with up to life imprisonment.
