Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai was on Monday found guilty on two counts of foreign collusion and of seditious publication, in one of the Chinese city's highest-profile national security trials.

The founder of the now-shut Apple Daily newspaper has been behind bars since 2020, with his case widely criticised as an example of eroding political freedoms under the national security law Beijing imposed on Hong Kong following huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019.

Prosecutors said Lai, 78, was the mastermind behind two conspiracies to ask foreign countries to impose "sanctions or blockade" or take "hostile activities" against Hong Kong or China, and accused him of publishing materials they said "excited disaffection" against the government.

"There is no doubt that (Lai) had harboured his resentment and hatred of the PRC for many of his adult years, and this is apparent in his articles," Judge Esther Toh told the court, using the acronym of the People's Republic of China.

"It is also clear to us that the first defendant has from an early stage, long before the National Security Law, been applying his mind as to what leverage the US could use against the PRC," she said, referring to Lai.

Lai, wearing a light green cardigan and grey jacket, looked impassive as he listened to the verdicts with folded arms, and did not speak.

He now faces a maximum penalty of life in prison and will be sentenced at a later date. He can appeal the charges.

Dozens of police officers were deployed around the court building in the morning, with an armoUred car positioned nearby.

Consular representatives, including those from the United States, the European Union and France, were among those queueing to enter.

"We're here to observe... to signal close interest in these cases," Matthias Kaufmann, deputy head of the EU Office to Hong Kong and Macao, said before entering the court.

Lai's wife Teresa, his son Lai Shun-yan, as well as veterans from Hong Kong's pro-democracy camp, including Cardinal Joseph Zen and former legislator Emily Lau, were also in attendance.

'Death knell for press freedom'

The case has grown into a wedge between Beijing and many Western nations, with US President Donald Trump reportedly calling for Lai's release during a meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in October.

The British government has repeatedly described the prosecution of Lai, a British citizen, as "politically motivated".

The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned Monday's ruling as a "sham conviction".

"The ruling underscores Hong Kong's utter contempt for press freedom, which is supposed to be protected under the city's mini-constitution, the Basic Law," CPJ Asia-Pacific Director Beh Lih Yi said in a statement.

The 78-year-old once described himself as a "born rebel". He defied the Chinese Communist Party for years while amassing millions from his clothing and media empires.

Beijing said Friday it "firmly supports" Hong Kong in "safeguarding national security" from criminal acts.

Lai is a British citizen, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer faces pressure from rights groups to secure his release.

Before Monday's verdict, another former Apple Daily employee surnamed Chan recalled that Lai wished for a "free and democratic China".

"He loved the country a lot, he just didn't love the regime. (The situation) is absurd," Chan told AFP outside court.

Health concerns

Lai looked thinner than when he first entered custody, and some of the dozens of supporters who gathered at dawn in front of West Kowloon court building expressed concern for his wellbeing.

"I really want to see what's happening with 'the boss', to see if his health has deteriorated," said Tammy Cheung, who worked at Lai's newspaper for nearly two decades.

Lai's family recently said he had lost weight and had visible decay to his nails and teeth since his long imprisonment.

His daughter Claire told AFP last week that Lai, a diabetic, had "lost a very significant amount of weight" and showed nail and teeth decay.

The Hong Kong government said Friday Lai has received "adequate and comprehensive" care and that "no complaints" had been raised.

Authorities also confirmed that Lai had been held in solitary confinement, but said that "has all along been made at his own request".

Sprawling trial

Prosecutors cited 161 items items Apple Daily published, in their case against Lai.

Those items, including op-eds with Lai's byline and online talk shows he hosted, were deemed seditious under a colonial-era law because they "excited disaffection" against the government.

Prosecutors also accused Lai of being the mastermind and financial backer of the protest group "Stand with Hong Kong, Fight for Freedom".

Lai countered that he had never sought to influence other countries' foreign policies, saying Apple Daily represented Hongkongers' core values: "rule of law, freedom, pursuit of democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly".

Apple Daily was forced to close in 2021 following police raids. Six top executives were charged as co-defendants and have already pleaded guilty.