By James Pomfret and Jessie Pang
HONG KONG, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s most prominent media tycoon, Jimmy Lai, was sentenced on Monday to a total of 20 years in prison on national security charges that include two counts of conspiring to collude with foreign forces and one count of publishing seditious materials.
The ruling ends a legal saga spanning nearly five years, and Hong Kong’s most high-profile national security hearing. Lai, the founder of the now-closed Apple Daily newspaper, was first arrested in August 2020 and convicted last year.
Lai’s 20-year sentence was in the most severe “range” of 10 years to life in prison for crimes of a “serious nature”.
The Hong Kong court said that Lai’s sentence was enhanced by the fact that he was the “mastermind” and driving force behind foreign collusion conspiracies.
The 78-year-old man, a British citizen, denied all the charges against him, and said in court that he is a “political prisoner” who is facing persecution from Beijing.
Lai’s stance has been criticized by global leaders including US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, highlighting a years-long national security crackdown on the Chinese-led Asian financial hub, following mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.
“The rule of law has completely broken down in Hong Kong. Today’s ugly decision is the final nail in the coffin for press freedom in Hong Kong,” said Jodie Ginsberg, CEO of the Committee to Protect Journalism.
“The international community must increase its pressure to release Jimmy Lai if we want press freedom to be respected everywhere in the world.”
Lai arrived at the court in a white jacket, hands held together in a gesture of prayer as she smiled and waved to fans.
The case has drawn calls for the release of the longtime critic of the Chinese Communist Party, who friends and supporters say is in frail health.
“The harsh 20-year sentence against 78-year-old Jimmy Lai is effectively a death sentence,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia Director of Human Rights Watch. “A sentence of this magnitude is both cruel and deeply unjust.”
Dozens of Lai’s supporters queued for several days to get a seat in the courtroom, with scores of police officers, sniffer dogs and police vehicles including an armored truck and a bomb disposal van deployed around the area.
“I feel that Mr. Lai is the conscience of Hong Kong,” said a man named Sum, aged 64, who was in the queue.
“He speaks for the people of Hong Kong, and even for many unjust cases in mainland China and for the development of democracy. So I feel that I spend a few days of my own freedom sleeping here outside than to see him locked inside.”
Starmer raised the case of Lai, who has British citizenship, in detail during a tête-à-tête with Chinese leader Xi Jinping last month in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People, according to people briefed on the discussions. Britain’s national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, and China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, were also present.
“I raised the case of Jimmy Lai and called for his release,” Starmer told the UK parliament after his trip.
Trump also raised Lai’s case with Xi during a meeting last October. Several Western diplomats told Reuters that negotiations to free Lai are likely to begin in earnest after he is sentenced, and depending on whether Lai appeals.
LIFE IN PRISON?
Lai’s family, lawyer, supporters and former colleagues have warned he could die in prison as he suffers from health conditions including heart palpitations and high blood pressure.
In addition to Lai, six former senior Apple Daily employees, an activist and a paralegal will also be sentenced.
“Jimmy Lai’s trial has been nothing but a farce from the start and shows total disregard for Hong Kong’s laws that are supposed to protect press freedom,” Asia-Pacific Committee to Protect Journalists Director Beh Lih Yi said.
Beijing, however, says Lai received a fair trial and all are treated equally under the national security law that has restored order in the city.
(Reporting by James Pomfret, Jessie Pang; Additional reporting by Andrew MacAskill in London; Writing by Greg Torode; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree and Michael Perry)