Jimmy Lai, Hong Kong media tycoon, gets 20-year prison sentence

KABUL (Pajhwok): A Hong Kong court on Monday handed media mogul Jimmy Lai a 20-year prison sentence under Beijing’s controversial national security law, marking the conclusion of the city’s highest-profile security trial in nearly five years, Al Jazeera reported.

Lai, founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was first arrested in August 2020.

Late last year, he was convicted on two counts of foreign collusion and one count of seditious publication. His sentence falls within the harshest range prescribed for “grave” offenses, which carries a potential term of 10 years to life.

The court highlighted Lai’s role as the “mastermind” behind foreign collusion conspiracies in justifying the severity of the sentence.

At 78, the British citizen has denied all charges, asserting in court that he is a “political prisoner” being persecuted by Beijing. Given his age and health issues, including heart palpitations and high blood pressure, Lai’s family and supporters fear the sentence could effectively be a life term.

Co-defendants in the case received prison terms ranging from six years and three months to ten years.

sa