Hong Kong Hands Jimmy Lai 20-Year Sentence in Biggest Media Freedom Trial Yet

NEW YORK — The Committee to Protect Journalists Feb. 9 condemned the sentencing of publisher Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison and jail terms of six to 10 years for former colleagues from the now-defunct newspaper Apple Daily, in Hong Kong’s largest media trial.

Lai, the founder of the pro-democracy Apple Daily and a British citizen, has been in jail since 2020, amid concerns over his deteriorating health. 

Lai was convicted on Dec. 15 on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious material. He was arrested in Dec. 2020 under a Beijing-imposed national security law that was used to quell protests and silence dissent, including the work of journalists.

The court also sentenced six Apple Daily editors and executives, who were arrested in 2021 and plead guilty to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces in 2022 in return for clemency on another charge. Some have served as prosecution witnesses and testified against Lai. The six are:

• Chan Pui-man, associate publisher (sentenced to seven years in prison).
• Cheung Kim-hung, CEO at Apple Daily’s parent company, Next Digital Limited (six years and nine months).
• Lam Man-chung, executive editor-in-chief (10 years).
• Ryan Law Wai-kwong, editor-in-chief (10 years).
• Fung Wai-kong, senior editorial writer and managing editor of the newspaper’s English edition (10 years).
• Yeung Ching-kee, lead editorial writer (seven years and three months).

The Apple Daily was forced to cease publication in 2021 after authorities froze its assets and repeatedly raided its offices, ending its 26 years of operation.

Lai has spent much of his detention in solitary confinement. Lai suffers from multiple illnesses including hypertension, diabetes, and cataracts.

CPJ has long advocated for the release of Lai, was winner of the 2021 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award, and the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and the European Union have also called for him to be freed.