Jimmy Lai's supporters queue in Hong Kong over court decision

Supporters of Hong Kong democracy activist Jimmy Lai queued outside a Hong Kong court overnight before today's verdict in his landmark trial as international calls have grown to release the China critic who has already spent five years in jail.



Lai, 78, the millionaire founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper and one of the most prominent critics of China's increasingly tight controls under President Xi Jinping, has pleaded not guilty to the three charges against him.



Two counts - of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security - carry prison terms of up to life in prison for Lai, a British citizen.



Lai's hearing in Hong Kong's High Court, starting at 10 a.m., bookends a year of the essential disappearance of Hong Kong's democratic opposition, with the city's largest opposition, the Democratic Party, voting to disband on Sunday under pressure from Beijing.



Outside the courthouse, people formed a queue more than a block long, some with camping gear, seeking the 507 tickets to the courthouse - 58 for Lai's courtroom and the rest for overflow viewing by video link.



Scores of police were deployed around the area.



Lai's 156-day trial, which began in December 2023, is the highest-profile use of Beijing's sweeping national security law that reverted to Chinese rule in 1997, with the verdict looming as a potential fresh diplomatic flashpoint.