Hong Kong’s judiciary has handed a 20-year prison sentence to media entrepreneur and pro-democracy figure Jimmy Lai, marking one of the most severe punishments imposed under the city’s Beijing-backed national security legislation.
According to a court-issued summary released on Monday, 18 years of the sentence will run consecutively with a five-year term Lai is already serving in a separate fraud case. The ruling means the 78-year-old could remain incarcerated for the remainder of his life, reports Al Jazeera.
Lai, the founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, has been in detention for more than five years. In December, the court convicted him on two charges of colluding with foreign forces and one count related to seditious publication.
Human rights organisations and several Western governments had urged authorities to free Lai prior to sentencing, with critics describing the proceedings as “nothing but a charade”.
Concerns have also been raised over Lai’s health. His legal team, relatives, supporters and former colleagues have warned that his medical conditions—including heart palpitations and high blood pressure—could prove fatal if he remains imprisoned.
As Lai exited the courtroom, witnesses said he appeared solemn, while members of the public gallery were seen in tears.
Monday’s ruling also affected others linked to Apple Daily. Six former senior staff members, along with an activist and a paralegal, were sentenced in the same case. Their prison terms ranged from six years and three months to 10 years.
Those convicted include publisher Cheung Kim-hung, associate publisher Chan Pui-man, editor-in-chief Ryan Law, executive editor-in-chief Lam Man-chung, English news editor Fung Wai-kong and editorial writer Yeung Ching-kee.
The Committee to Protect Journalists condemned the outcome, sayingLai’s trial “has been nothing but a charade from the start and shows total contempt for Hong Kong laws that are supposed to protect press freedom”.
Reporters Without Borders warned that the decision “will resonate far beyond Jimmy Lai himself, sending a decisive signal about the future of press freedom in the territory”.
Beijing has rejected international criticism, describing it as an effort to undermine Hong Kong’s legal system. Local authorities insist the case “has nothing to do with freedom of speech and of the press”.
Lai was among the earliest high-profile arrests after the national security law came into force in 2020. Within months, other senior Apple Daily journalists were detained. Subsequent police operations, prosecutions and the freezing of company assets ultimately led to the newspaper shutting down in June 2021.
Its final print run reached one million copies.
Observers say the sentencing may further strain China’s relations with Western nations. Both the United Kingdom and the United States have criticised Lai’s conviction.
