A Hong Kong court sentenced media mogul Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison on Monday, closing the biggest national security case since Beijing imposed the controversial law in 2020.
Lai, the founder of the now-shuttered opposition newspaper Apple Daily, was found guilty last year of two counts of “collaborating with foreign forces” and one count of publishing “subversive” materials. Monday’s ruling gave him the harshest sentence yet imposed under the national security law.
The three judges said the 78-year-old deserved the harshest sentence because he was the “mastermind” of an ongoing campaign to seek sanctions, blockades and hostile measures from the US and other countries against Hong Kong and China. According to the prosecution, this network included Apple Daily employees, activists and foreign nationals.
In addition to Lai, eight other people — including former newspaper executives, an activist, and a legal assistant — were sentenced to 6 to 10 years in prison.
Lai, a British citizen, has denied the charges and told the court that he is a "political prisoner" persecuted by Beijing.
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called for his release on humanitarian grounds, saying the sentence effectively amounted to life imprisonment because of his age. London announced it would raise the issue again with Chinese authorities.
The Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office of the Chinese State Council responded by stating that the decision "sends a clear message that anyone who challenges the national security law will be severely punished."
