"Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy former Hong Kong media tycoon and a fierce critic of Beijing, was sentenced on Monday to 20 years in prison in the longest punishment given so far under a China-imposed national security law that has virtually silenced the city's dissent. Lai, 78, was convicted in December of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security, and conspiracy to publish seditious articles. The maximum penalty for his conviction was life imprisonment."
"His co-defendants, six former employees of his Apple Daily newspaper and two activists, received prison terms of between 6 years and 3 months, and 10 years on collusion-related charges. Lai smiled and waved at his supporters when he arrived for the sentence. But before he left the courtroom, he looked serious, as some people in the public gallery cried. When asked about whether they would appeal, his lawyer Robert Pang said no comment."
"The democracy advocate's arrest and trial have raised concerns about the decline of press freedom in what was once an Asian bastion of media independence. The government insists the case has nothing to do with a free press, saying the defendants used news reporting as a pretext for years to commit acts that harmed China and Hong Kong. Lai was one of the first prominent figures to be arrested under the security law in 2020."
Jimmy Lai, a 78-year-old pro-democracy former Hong Kong media tycoon and critic of Beijing, was sentenced to 20 years in prison under the national security law. He was convicted in December of conspiring to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and of conspiracy to publish seditious articles; the maximum penalty was life imprisonment. Six former Apple Daily employees and two activists received prison terms of between 6 years and 3 months and 10 years on collusion-related charges. Lai smiled and waved at supporters in court but appeared serious before leaving as some in the gallery cried. The arrest and trial have raised concerns about the decline of press freedom, while the government says reporting was used as a pretext for harmful acts. The sentencing drew criticism from foreign leaders who have urged his release.
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