The son of Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai has called his imprisonment by Chinese authorities essentially a "death sentence".
The 78-year-old British citizen was sentenced on Monday for 20 years after he was found guilty of national security offences last December, marking the harshest sentence to be given under the city's controversial national security law (NSL).
Lai was one of the loudest critics of China, often wielding his pro-democracy paper, Apple Daily, as a tool of protest. He has always denied the charges against him.
Sebastien Lai, his son, told the BBC that he believes his father is being punished for "defending the freedom of Hong Kong".
As a British citizen, Sebastian told BBC Radio 4's Today programme, that Lai deserves much more.
