"Hong Kong's Chief Executive John Lee has praised the sentencing of pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison, saying he had committed numerous heinous crimes, and his evil deeds were beyond measure. Lee's condemnation on Tuesday of the former Apple Daily newspaper owner came as officials in the United States, the United Kingdom and several other countries, as well as the United Nations, said the jailing of Lai was unjust and that the 78-year-old should be freed on humanitarian grounds."
"The Hong Kong chief executive said Lai's newspaper had poisoned Hong Kong citizens and encouraged them to break the law and become radical and violent, during months of antigovernment demonstrations in 2019. The severe sentence of 20 years' imprisonment imposed on him manifests that the rule of law is upheld and justice is done, and also brings great relief to all, Lee said."
"US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the sentence as an unjust and tragic conclusion to Lai's case. It shows the world that Beijing will go to extraordinary lengths to silence those who advocate fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong, he said in a statement shared on X. Rubio and UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called for Hong Kong to release Lai, a dual UK and Hong Kong citizen, on humanitarian grounds."
Jimmy Lai, 78, received a 20-year sentence under Hong Kong's national security law; six former Apple Daily employees and two others received terms of six years three months to ten years. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee praised the sentence, called Lai's actions heinous, and accused his newspaper of poisoning citizens and encouraging violence during 2019 protests. The United States, United Kingdom, several other countries and the United Nations condemned the jailing and called for Lai's humanitarian release, with the UN human rights commissioner saying the verdict should be quashed as incompatible with international law. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the sentence unjust and tragic.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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