The Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong will hand down its sentence over Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai’s bail hearing under the national security law on Tuesday morning.

The city’s top court has made it clear that the appeal deals only with the legal dispute over the article on the granting of bail under the national security law and not the subsequent application for bail.

If the Department of Justice wins the appeal, the 73-year-old media tycoon will continue to stay in custody and have to re-apply for bail.

However, if the CFA rules against the government, Lai will be released on bail under the same stringent conditions imposed by the High Court on Christmas Eve last year. The bail conditions include banning him from using social media, publishing or commenting online, taking interviews, meeting foreign diplomats and leaving his apartment.

Lai was remanded in custody twice over alleged fraud and foreign collusion under the national security law as the legal dispute over bail drags on.

The hearing, which took place last Monday, was presided over by Chief Justice Andrew Cheung, permanent judges Roberto Ribeiro and Joseph Fok, non-permanent judges Patrick Chan and Frank Stock. It marked Cheung’s first national security case since he took office.

As there are only a total of seven seats for press members in the courtroom, media outlets queued outside the courthouse as early as 34 hours before the hearing. Those who fail to secure a seat in the courtroom lined up for one of 50 seats in the gallery to watch the broadcast.

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