A Hong Kong court is set to issue a verdict Monday in the national security trial of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, a case widely criticized as a sign of erosion of political freedoms in the Chinese city.

Lai, who turned 78 this week, is charged with foreign collusion under Hong Kong¡¯s national security law, which Beijing imposed following huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in 2019.

The founder of the Apple Daily newspaper has been behind bars since late 2020, reportedly in solitary confinement.