Hong Kong’s most vocal China critic, media tycoon Jimmy Lai, was sentenced on Monday to 20 years in jail, ending the city’s biggest national security case that has fuelled global concerns about Beijing’s clampdown on freedoms in the ex-British colony. Lai’s sentence on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one for publishing seditious materials ends a legal saga that has lasted nearly five years. The 78-year-old British citizen had denied all the charges against him, telling the court he was a “political prisoner” facing persecution from Beijing.
Lai, founder of the feisty and now shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, was first arrested in August 2020 and was convicted last year. His sentence was within the harshest penalty tier for offences of a “grave nature”, reflecting the fact that he was the driving force behind “persistent” foreign collusion conspiracies, the three judges said in announcing their verdict. They cited prosecution evidence that the conspiracies had sought sanctions, blockades and other hostile acts from the U.S.
and other countries while involving a web of individuals including Apple Daily staff, activists and foreigners. Six former senior Apple Daily staffers, an activist and a paralegal were also sentenced to jail terms ranging from six to 10 years. Graphic: Graphic showing Jimmy Lai and other defendants “In the present case, Lai was no doubt the mastermind of all three conspiracies charged and therefore he warrants a heavier sentence,” the judges said.
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Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the sentence “unjust and tragic”, saying it showed the lengths to which China would go to silence advocates of basic freedoms in Hong Kong. Lai and his family have suffered enough. The United States urges the authorities to grant Mr.
Lai humanitarian parole,” Rubio said in a statement, echoing similar calls from Britain and U.N. rights chief Volker Turk.
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