Yahoo TV

Outside the District Court, democracy activists chanted slogans, posed for pictures with supporters and spoke to the media before their trial.

Next Digital Ltd shares were suspended on Monday after authorities froze assets of its jailed owner Lai under a new national security law.

Lai, a democracy activist and staunch Beijing critic, was sentenced to 14 months in prison for taking part in unauthorized assemblies during anti-government protests in Hong Kong in 2019, and is among the most high profile arrests made under the security law.

Lai and nine other activists pleaded guilty in the District Court to charges of organizing an unauthorized assembly on October 1, 2019, China's national day, as a trial began on Monday.