By AFP | 2026-02-09

HONG KONG -- A Hong Kong court February 9 sentenced pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison following a high-profile national security trial that rights groups and Western nations have condemned as a symbol of the city’s shrinking press freedoms.

The 78-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper was convicted in December on two counts of foreign collusion under a sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing, as well as one count of seditious publication.

"After considering the serious and grave criminal conduct of Lai... the Court was satisfied that the total sentence for Lai in the present case should be 20 years' imprisonment," a summary document from the judges said.

Two of those years will overlap with Lai's existing prison term, meaning that he will serve an additional 18 years, the judges wrote.

Lai, who has been behind bars since 2020, sat impassively in the dock as his sentence was read out.

As he was led away, he waved solemnly to spectators in the public gallery, including his wife, Teresa; former Hong Kong bishop Cardinal Joseph Zen and former Apple Daily reporters.

About 70 supporters braved the cold to queue outside the West Kowloon court at daybreak, while dozens of journalists gathered outside the building's entrance.

Lai's case has been denounced by rights groups as a death knell for press freedoms in Hong Kong, while international leaders have urged Hong Kong and Beijing to release him.

Global criticism

Rights groups condemned the sentence as excessive and unjust.

"The harsh 20-year sentence against 78-year-old Jimmy Lai is effectively a death sentence. A sentence of this magnitude is both cruel and profoundly unjust," Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

"This verdict needs to be promptly quashed as incompatible with international law," United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said in a statement.

Amnesty International said the case marked "another grim milestone in Hong Kong's transformation from a city governed by the rule of law to one ruled by fear."

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had raised the issue of Lai, a British citizen, during his meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing last month.

US President Donald Trump has called for Lai's release.

The Committee to Protect Journalists said in a statement before the sentencing that Lai'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 said the mogul's sentencing "will resonate far beyond Jimmy Lai himself, sending a decisive signal about the future of press freedom in the territory."

Beijing has dismissed critics as smearing Hong Kong's judicial system, while Hong Kong authorities say Lai's case "has nothing to do with freedom of speech and of the press."

Activist Tsang Kin-shing, a member of the now-disbanded League of Social Democrats, said he was worried given Lai's advanced age.

"Apple Daily has shut down, and the media's mentality has changed completely," Tsang told AFP.

Apple Daily was forced to close in 2021 following police raids.

Outside the court, police deployed dozens of officers, an armored car and a bomb disposal van.

Stiff penalties

Long a thorn in Beijing's side, Lai was prosecuted under a Hong Kong national security law that Beijing imposed in 2020, a year after huge and sometimes violent pro-democracy protests in the finance hub.

The judges said in their verdict in December that Lai had "harbored his resentment and hatred of (China) for many of his adult years" and sought the "downfall of the Chinese Communist Party."

Eight other defendants, including six Apple Daily executives, February 9 received sentences of up to 10 years in jail. All had pleaded guilty.

Lai defense lawyer Robert Pang previously told the court a lengthy jail term would be "harsher" for someone of Lai's age and physical condition.

"Every day (Lai) spends in prison will bring him that much closer to the end of his life," Pang said at the time.

Two of his children have raised concerns over his health in recent months, but authorities said Lai has received "adequate and comprehensive" care.

As of the start of the month, Hong Kong had arrested a total of 386 defendants for various national security crimes, with 176 of them being convicted.