In this picture taken on June 16, 2020, millionaire media tycoon Jimmy Lai poses during an interview with AFP at the Next Digital offices in Hong Kong. ANTHONY WALLACE / AFP
A Hong Kong court sentenced pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison on Monday, February 9, following his high-profile national security trial that rights groups and Western nations have condemned as a symbol of the city's shriveling press freedoms. The 78-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper was found guilty 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, an AFP journalist in the court saw. As he was led away, he waved solemnly to people in the public gallery, including his wife Teresa, former Hong Kong bishop Cardinal Joseph Zen, and former Apple Daily reporters.
