Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong media mogul and pro-democracy activist, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for national security offences, in what his daughter described as a sentence that could mean 'he will die a martyr behind bars'. The 78-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily was convicted in December on charges of sedition and conspiracy to collude with foreign forces.
Lai's daughter, Claire Lai, called the sentence 'heartbreakingly cruel' given her father's declining health, while his son, Sebastien Lai, labelled it 'draconian' and 'devastating'. The judges described Lai as the 'mastermind' behind the conspiracies but granted minor deductions on health grounds.
The sentence, the harshest handed down for national security offences in Hong Kong, was condemned by press freedom and human rights groups. Reporters Without Borders said 'the curtain falls on press freedom in Hong Kong', while Human Rights Watch called the term 'effectively a death sentence'. Amnesty International described the case as 'another grim milestone in Hong Kong's transformation from a city governed by the rule of law to one ruled by fear'.
Hong Kong's chief executive, John Lee, welcomed the sentence, calling Lai's crimes 'heinous and evil in the extreme'. The UK foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, said the sentence was 'tantamount to a life sentence' and called for Lai's release on humanitarian grounds. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer raised Lai's case with President Xi Jinping during a visit to Beijing in January.
Lai was arrested in August 2020 under the national security law imposed in June 2020, which critics say has crushed dissent in the city. Apple Daily was forced to close in 2021. The British government has faced criticism from Lai's family for not doing enough to secure his release.
