Hong Kong media tycoon and prominent China critic Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in the city’s most high profile national security case. The ruling caps a legal battle that has lasted nearly five years and has drawn widespread international concern.
Lai, the 78 year old founder of the now closed pro democracy newspaper Apple Daily, was convicted on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of publishing seditious materials. The judges said his offences fell within the harshest penalty tier for national security crimes of a grave nature.
The court described Lai as the mastermind of what it called persistent collusion conspiracies seeking sanctions, blockades and other hostile acts against China by foreign governments, including the United States. Prosecutors said the network behind him involved Apple Daily staff, activists and foreign contacts.
Six former senior Apple Daily staff, an activist and a paralegal were also jailed for between six and ten years. The sentence is the toughest handed down so far under Hong Kong’s national security laws, which Beijing introduced in 2020 after mass pro democracy protests the previous year.
Lai, a British citizen, has denied all the charges and told the court he is a political prisoner being persecuted by Beijing. He arrived in court wearing a white jacket and greeting supporters with a prayer gesture, as dozens queued for days to secure seats in the courtroom.
His family and supporters say he suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure and fear the sentence could amount to life in prison given his age. His son Sebastien said the ruling was devastating, describing it as life threatening for his father and a sign of the total destruction of Hong Kong’s legal system.
The United States, Britain, the European Union, Japan and Taiwan have all voiced concern, with many calling for Lai’s release. The U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk urged that the verdict be quashed and that Lai be freed on humanitarian grounds.
British foreign minister Yvette Cooper said the term was tantamount to a life sentence and promised London would step up engagement on Lai’s case. Japan’s government said it was seriously concerned about the impact on freedoms of speech, association and assembly in Hong Kong.
China’s Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office welcomed the verdict, calling it a strong warning that anyone who challenges national security laws will be severely punished. Hong Kong’s leader John Lee said Lai had committed numerous heinous crimes and that his evil deeds were beyond measure, claiming the sentence brings great relief.
Officials in Beijing and Hong Kong insist Lai received a fair trial and that the law is essential to restoring order after the 2019 unrest. Lai’s lawyer has 28 days to decide whether to appeal the ruling.
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