Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy former Hong Kong media mogul and outspoken critic of Beijing, was convicted in a landmark national security trial in the city’s court this week, which could send him to prison for the rest of his life.

Lai, an ardent Catholic who converted in 1997, was one of Hong Kong’s foremost human rights advocates, sitting at the helm of a small media empire in a political environment that was increasingly controlled by the Communist Party of China.

His plight has drawn support from around the world, including among prominent Catholic leaders. In 2021 he was honoured with an award by organisers of the US National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, while the next year he was given an honorary degree from The Catholic University of America.

In 2023 Lai was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize alongside Cardinal Joseph Zen and numerous others for their work in promoting human rights in Hong Kong. That same year nearly a dozen bishops and archbishops from around the world called for Lai’s release, criticizing the “cruelty and oppression” to which he had been subject for years.

Among the attendees at his trial was Hong Kong’s retired Cardinal Joseph Zen.

[Photo shows Senator Ronan Mullen with Sebastien Lai, son of Jimmy Lai]