Jimmy Lai Learns His Fate in Closely-Watched Hong Kong Trial

Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy former Hong Kong media tycoon and a fierce critic of Beijing, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the longest punishment given so far under a China-imposed national security law that has virtually silenced the city's dissent, the AP reports. Lai, 78, was convicted in December of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security, and conspiracy to publish seditious articles. The maximum penalty for his conviction was life imprisonment. His co-defendants, six former employees of his Apple Daily newspaper and two activists, received prison terms of between 6 years and 3 months, and 10 years on collusion-related charges.

Lai smiled and waved at his supporters when he arrived for the sentence. But before he left the courtroom, he looked serious, as some people in the public gallery cried. When asked about whether they would appeal, his lawyer Robert Pang said no comment. The democracy advocate's arrest and trial have raised concerns about the decline of press freedom in what was once an Asian bastion of media independence. The government insists the case has nothing to do with a free press, saying the defendants used news reporting as a pretext for years to commit acts that harmed China and Hong Kong. Lai was one of the first prominent figures to be arrested under the security law in 2020. Within a year, some of Apple Daily's senior journalists also were arrested and the newspaper shut down in June 2021. The final edition sold a million copies.

Lai's sentencing could heighten Beijing's diplomatic tensions with foreign governments. His conviction has drawn criticism from the US and the UK. US President Donald Trump, who is expected to visit China in April, said he felt "so badly" after the verdict and noted he spoke to Chinese leader Xi Jinping about Lai and "asked to consider his release." British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's government also has called for the release of Lai, who is a British citizen. In a statement, Lai's son, Sebastien, said the "draconian" prison term was devastating for our family and life-threatening for his father. "It signifies the total destruction of the Hong Kong legal system and the end of justice," he said. His sister Claire called the sentence "heartbreakingly cruel" in the same statement. "If this sentence is carried out, he will die a martyr behind bars," she said.