HONG KONG, China: Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai will be sentenced on Monday after being convicted in a landmark national security case, according to a notice published on the court’s website.
The 78-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper was found guilty in December of collusion with foreign forces under Hong Kong’s sweeping national security law, imposed by Beijing following the massive and at times violent pro-democracy protests of 2019.
According to AFP, Lai was also convicted on one count of seditious publication and could face a life sentence.
Global leaders, including US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, have called for Lai’s release, while rights groups warn that the case represents a decisive blow to press freedom in Hong Kong.
A British citizen, Lai has been in custody since 2020. Multiple Western governments, including those of the United States and Britain, have repeatedly urged authorities to free him.
‘Grave nature’ of the case
In January, Lai’s defence lawyers acknowledged the “grave nature” of the charges, which centred on allegations that he called for foreign sanctions against China and Hong Kong.
Lai is set to be sentenced alongside eight co-defendants on Monday, including six former Apple Daily executives.
All of the co-defendants except Lai pleaded guilty. Some testified against him, which could result in reduced sentences, defence lawyers said last month.
In their 856-page verdict issued in December, the judges wrote that Lai “harboured his resentment and hatred of China for many of his adult years” and sought the “downfall of the Chinese Communist Party.”
Prosecutors cited 161 Apple Daily articles as evidence against Lai. The court ruled that the content amounted to sedition under a colonial-era law, concluding that the publications had “excited disaffection” against the government.
Lai has consistently denied seeking to influence the foreign policies of other countries, saying Apple Daily reflected Hongkongers’ core values, including “rule of law, freedom, and the pursuit of democracy.”
International outcry
The case has drawn widespread condemnation from international leaders and press freedom advocates.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer raised Lai’s case during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing in January, acknowledging that the two sides did not agree on the issue.
Relations between the United Kingdom and China deteriorated sharply in 2020 after Beijing imposed the national security law on Hong Kong, curtailing many freedoms in the former British colony.
Following Lai’s conviction, Trump said he had personally appealed to Xi to consider releasing the media mogul.
“He’s an older man, and he’s not well. So I did put that request out. We’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters at the time.
The European Union said the conviction was “emblematic of the erosion of democracy and fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong since the imposition of the National Security Law.”
Amnesty International described the verdict as a “death knell for press freedom in Hong Kong,” while the Committee to Protect Journalists labelled the proceedings a “sham.”
Beijing has rejected international criticism, saying it amounts to “smearing the judicial system in Hong Kong.”
The Hong Kong government has insisted that Lai’s case “has nothing to do with freedom of speech or of the press.”
Under Hong Kong law, collusion offences deemed “of a grave nature” carry sentences ranging from 10 years to life in prison, while sedition is punishable by a maximum of two years.
