A Hong Kong court on Monday sentenced pro-democracy media tycoon and spiritual freedom advocate Jimmy Lai to twenty years in prison, the harshest penalty yet handed down under Beijing’s national security law in one among the town’s most high-profile cases.
The 78-year-old Catholic and founding father of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper was convicted in December on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious articles. The charges stem from allegations that he tried to solicit foreign sanctions against China and Hong Kong, in addition to content published in his pro-democracy outlet.
Three government-vetted judges on the High Court spared Lai the utmost sentence of life imprisonment, The Associated Press reports, adding that Judge Esther Toh said 18 years of the term should run consecutively to Lai’s existing nearly six-year sentence for fraud related to a separate lease violation case.
Lai, who holds British citizenship, has been in custody for greater than five years and has been held mainly in solitary confinement.
Lai pleaded not guilty throughout his 156-day trial, testifying for 52 days in his own defense. Prosecutors accused him of conspiring with six former Apple Daily staffers, two activists and others to induce foreign entities — including U.S. politicians — to impose sanctions or engage in hostile activities against Hong Kong and China. The case highlighted meetings Lai held with American officials before the national security law took effect in 2020.
The law, imposed by Beijing following massive pro-democracy protests in 2019, has been used to prosecute dozens of activists, lawmakers and journalists, effectively quelling open dissent within the semi-autonomous Chinese territory. Authorities claimed the law sought to revive stability after sometimes-violent demonstrations.
Lai’s defense team, including lawyer Robert Pang, argued in mitigation that his client’s advanced age, health issues — including heart palpitations, hypertension and diabetes — and prolonged solitary confinement should lead to a lighter sentence. Prosecutors countered that Lai had requested solitary confinement for his safety.
Co-defendants, including former Apple Daily executives who pleaded guilty and a few who testified for the prosecution, received sentences starting from 6 years and three months to 10 years.
The sentencing drew swift international condemnation.
Rights groups called it a blow to press freedom, with the Committee to Protect Journalists describing it as a part of Hong Kong’s “biggest media trial.”
Western leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and British officials, have previously called for Lai’s release, viewing his case as emblematic of Beijing’s tightening grip on the town.
Hong Kong authorities maintain that the prosecution concerns national security, not journalism or free expression. The government has said Lai’s actions threatened stability and that the law applies equally without targeting the media.
Lai, a self-made billionaire who built a fortune in fashion retail before launching Apple Daily in 1995, long used his platform to criticize the Chinese Communist Party. The newspaper was forced to shut in 2021 amid arrests and asset freezes tied to national security probes.
Lai can appeal the conviction and sentence. His case has grow to be a geopolitical flashpoint, straining relations between China and Western nations amid broader concerns over Hong Kong’s eroding civil liberties.
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