Jimmy Lai, pro-democracy Hong Kong media mogul, jailed for 20 years
India Today
Media tycoon Jimmy Lai's sentencing caps a legal saga spanning almost five years, and Hong Kong's most high-profile national security hearing.
Hong Kong's most prominent media tycoon Jimmy Lai was sentenced on Monday to a total of 20 years in jail on national security charges comprising two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one of publishing seditious materials.
The sentence ends a legal saga spanning almost five years, and Hong Kong's most high-profile national security hearing. Lai, founder of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, was first arrested in August 2020 and convicted last year.
Lai's sentence of 20 years was within the most severe penalty "band" of 10 years to life imprisonment for offences of a "grave nature".
The Hong Kong court said Lai's sentence was enhanced by the fact that he was "mastermind" and driving force behind foreign collusion conspiracies.
The 78-year-old, a British citizen, has denied all the charges against him, saying in court he is a "political prisoner" facing persecution from Beijing.
Lai's plight has been criticised by global leaders, including US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, spotlighting a years-long national security crackdown in the China-ruled Asian financial hub, following mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.
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