"In custody since 2020, Lai was found guilty in December of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and conspiracy to publish seditious articles. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. In sentencing the 78-year-old on the weekend, Judge Esther Toh said 18 years of his term should be served consecutively to his jail term in his fraud case, for which he received a sentence of five years and nine months. Lai can appeal his case."
"Hong Konger-Canadian groups across Canada including in Vancouver, Saskatchewan, Toronto and Montreal have also denounced the sentencing of Lai, calling it "draconian." In a joint statement, the groups said keeping an "elderly prisoner" who is diabetic and has already spent much of his 1,800 days in custody in solitary confinement is "cruel," "degrading" and a "violation of international human rights.""
Jimmy Lai, a 78-year-old pro-democracy activist and founder of Apple Daily, was sentenced to 20 years in prison under Hong Kong's national security law. Lai has been in custody since 2020 and was convicted in December of conspiring to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security and of conspiring to publish seditious articles; he pleaded not guilty. Judge Esther Toh ordered that 18 years be served consecutively to a separate fraud sentence of five years and nine months. Three government-vetted judges spared the maximum penalty of life imprisonment, and Lai can appeal. Family members and Hong Konger-Canadian groups called the sentence draconian and raised human-rights and health concerns. Six former Apple Daily employees and two activists received six- to ten-year terms.
Read at www.cbc.ca
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