HONG KONG – Hong Kong media tycoon and the city’s most prominent democracy advocate, Jimmy Lai, was sentenced to 20 years in jail on Monday, February 9, following his conviction in a landmark national security trial that has drawn heavy criticism from the West.
The sentencing of the founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper brings to an end a lengthy trial that has lasted for more than two years and during which the 78-year-old has already served over five years behind bars.
The sentencing at the West Kowloon Law Courts – packed with journalists, diplomats and members of the public – came shortly after proceedings began at 10am. Lai can appeal the decision within 28 days.
The Committee to Protect Journalists said the sentencing “is the final nail in the coffin for freedom of the press in Hong Kong,” in a statement released after the decision. “The international community must step up its pressure to free Jimmy Lai if we want press freedom to be respected anywhere in the world.”
Lai, a long-time critic of China’s Communist Party, faced up to life in jail. He is the highest-profile figure so far convicted under a national security law imposed on Hong Kong by Beijing in 2020.
He was found guilty in December 2025 of two counts of conspiring to collude with foreign forces and one count of conspiring to publish seditious materials. He had pleaded not guilty to all three charges.
Eight others were awaiting sentencing alongside Lai on Monday. All eight had pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiring to collude with foreign forces. They are activist Andy Li, paralegal Chan Tsz-wah and six former Apple Daily executives, comprising publisher Cheung Kim-hung, associate publisher Chan Pui-man, editor-in-chief Ryan Law, executive editor-in-chief Lam Man-chung, and editorial writers Fung Wai-kong and Yeung Ching-kee.
The national security trial has been heavily criticised by Western countries, including the US and Britain, who say It’s politically motivated. Critics have also said it reflects Hong Kong’s shrinking press freedoms as Beijing tightens its grip over the territory.
US President Donald Trump reportedly urged China’s leader Xi Jinping to release Lai, while British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he had also discussed the issue with President Xi.
The European Parliament has threatened sanctions against Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee and other officials over the matter, which it describes as a crackdown on the city’s freedoms and a violation of its people’s rights.
Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong officials have condemned those threats as “despicable political manipulation,” insisting that Lai received a fair trial.
Hong Kong’s top judge, Chief Justice Andrew Cheung, has said that demands for Lai’s release “strike at the very heart of the rule of law,” after Lai’s children lobbied foreign governments and international human rights organisations for help.
In mitigation, Lai’s lawyer Robert Pang pleaded for leniency on the basis of his advanced age and poor health. Lai suffers from hypertension, diabetes, cataracts and an ocular vein blockage.
Lai has been in jail almost continuously since December 2020. His trial began on December 18, 2023, and lasted 156 days, nearly twice the originally scheduled 80 days.
“Every day that he spends in prison would bring him that much closer to the end of his life,” Pang had said.
The 20-year sentence is the longest handed down under the national security law, surpassing the 10-year term given to activist Benny Tai in November 2024.
