Lai, who is 75 and was first arrested in 2020, is the founder and publisher of Apple Daily, a liberal newspaper that was forced to close in 2021 after the Chinese Communist party cracked down on pro-democracy protests. A longtime critic of the party, Lai is now one of the most high-profile activists in Hong Kong to have been arrested since the Chinese government imposed a sweeping national security law on the territory in 2020.
Lai was charged with violating the national security law in August 2020. His trial for that case is scheduled for September, but since his arrest he has been convicted on separate charges of fraud and organising illegal protests – charges that his supporters say are politically motivated.
