A Hong Kong court on Monday imposed a 20-year prison sentence on pro-democracy media tycoon and religious freedom advocate Jimmy Lai, delivering the most severe punishment yet under Beijing’s national security law in one of the city’s most prominent prosecutions.
The decision represents the harshest penalty applied under the sweeping law since its enactment, underscoring Beijing’s tightening control over the semi-autonomous territory.
Lai, a 78-year-old Catholic and the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily, 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.
Prosecutors said the charges stemmed from allegations that Lai sought to encourage foreign sanctions against China and Hong Kong and from editorial content published by his pro-democracy outlet.
According to The Associated Press, a panel of three government-approved High Court judges declined to impose a life sentence. Judge Esther Toh ruled that 18 years of the new term would run consecutively with Lai’s existing nearly six-year sentence for fraud tied to a separate lease violation.
Lai, who holds British citizenship, has remained in custody for more than five years, much of that time in solitary confinement. He pleaded not guilty throughout his 156-day trial and testified for 52 days in his own defense.
Prosecutors accused him of conspiring with six former Apple Daily staffers, two activists, and others to press foreign governments — including U.S. officials — to impose sanctions or take hostile actions against Hong Kong and China, citing meetings he held with American politicians before the law took effect in 2020.
Beijing enacted the national security law after mass pro-democracy protests in 2019, and authorities have since used it to prosecute scores of activists, lawmakers, and journalists, sharply curtailing public dissent.
Lai’s defense team, led by attorney Robert Pang, argued for leniency based on his age, health concerns — including heart palpitations, high blood pressure, and diabetes — and the toll of prolonged solitary confinement.
Other defendants in the case, including former Apple Daily executives who pleaded guilty or testified for the prosecution, received prison terms ranging from six years and three months to ten years.
Press freedom advocates condemned the verdict, with the Committee to Protect Journalists calling the case Hong Kong’s “biggest media trial.”
Western leaders have repeatedly urged Lai’s release, including U.S. President Donald Trump and British officials, who view the case as emblematic of Beijing’s expanding grip over Hong Kong.
