Jimmy Lai
The Hong Kong court has sentenced Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison, finding him guilty of conspiracy with foreign forces to alter the existing power structure in China and inciting rebellion against the authorities. According to Reuters, six of his former colleagues from the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper also received prison sentences ranging from six to ten years. The judges, while announcing the verdict, noted that the conspiracy was "deliberate" and "carefully planned."
During the hearings on January 13, Lai's lawyers submitted a request for leniency. Judge Alex Lee indicated that under national security laws, the media tycoon could face a sentence ranging from ten years to life imprisonment. Lai did not plead guilty.
At the age of 78, Jimmy Lai was arrested in August 2020 for violating national security laws enacted following mass protests in Hong Kong in 2019. Since then, he has been convicted of several lesser offenses.
The trial, which began in December 2023 with three judges and no jury, attracted the attention of the international community, including the USA, EU, and the UK, which remains a subject of Hong Kong. In mid-October 2025, at a meeting in South Korea, US President Donald Trump appealed to Xi Jinping to release Jimmy Lai, but received no response.
