As Trump vows to "save" Jimmy Lai, a HK court is about to determine his fate

Описание: US President Donald Trump has vowed to secure the release of Jimmy Lai, the jailed Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy advocate, pledging to “do everything I can to save him” and raise Lai's case as part of trade talks with China. Lai, founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily, has been imprisoned since December 2020 on charges of sedition and foreign collusion, serious charges that may send him to life in prison. Chinese authorities have warned the US not to interfere with the city’s internal affairs, with China's US Embassy Spokesman Liu Pengyu saying: "We strongly oppose external forces using judicial cases as a pretext to interfere in China’s internal affairs or to smear and undermine Hong Kong’s rule of law." The first day of closing arguments was adjourned due to concerns over Lai's health. The court learned he had not received medical treatments that were prescribed to him. Lai's son, Sebastian Lai says: “If you put a 77 year old man in a in a concrete box in solitary confinement — solitary confinement, by the way, is a form of torture; so 15 days of solitary confinement is prolonged solitary confinement. You put him in a concrete box, under the Hong Kong sun, for essentially close to half a decade. It is detrimental to his life.” The Hong Kong government says Lai requested removal from the general prison population, and: “The remarks by Sebastien Lai regarding Lai Chee-ying's solitary confinement are completely fact-twisting, reflecting a malicious intention to smear and attack the HKSAR Government.” Closing arguments are expected to take multiple days or even weeks before a verdict is announced. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout reports.