A court in a Chinese city has found Jimmy Lai, the founder of the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, guilty of national security violations. He was accused of conspiring to collude with foreign forces and publishing seditious materials. The 78-year-old faces a possible life sentence, with a sentencing hearing scheduled for mid-January. Lai pleaded not guilty.

This current trial is the most prominent case under China’s National Security Law, enacted following the pro-democracy protests in 2019. Jimmy Lai has previously been convicted in multiple cases and has been in custody since 2020.