The landmark national security trial of prominent Hong Kong activist publisher Jimmy Lai resumes Wednesday, with the founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily expected to testify in his defense soon.

Jimmy Lai, the pugnacious media tycoon whose now shuttered tabloid Apple Daily was a regular thorn in Beijing’s side, is set to testify on Wednesday at his own national security trial in a high stakes court battle that could see him spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Hong Kong's High Court on Tuesday sentenced 45 leading democrats to jail terms of up to 10 years in what critics say is a major blow to the financial hub's rule of law. Under a Beijing-imposed national security law which carries sentences of up to life in prison,