Hong Kong Court Hands Jimmy Lai 20-Year Sentence Under National Security Law

Overview

• The West Kowloon court set Lai’s term at 20 years for collusion with foreign forces and seditious publications, with two years overlapping a prior fraud sentence for an effective 18 additional years.
• Lai, 78, was convicted in December after a 156‑day trial and now has 28 days to appeal, according to his lawyer.
• Judges described him as the architect of efforts to solicit foreign sanctions and cited writings they said sought to overthrow the Chinese Communist Party.
• Eight co‑accused, including Apple Daily newsroom leaders Ryan Law, Lam Man‑chung and Fung Wai‑kong, received prison terms of up to 10 years, with others getting shorter sentences after cooperating.
• The UK criticized the case as political, the EU and the UN human rights office urged his immediate release, NGOs condemned the ruling, and Hong Kong and Beijing defended it as lawful; Lai remains in isolation in custody as family cite health concerns.