Democratic governments have been urged to halt efforts to normalise relations with China and instead apply sustained pressure on Beijing and the Hong Kong authorities to secure the release of Jimmy Lai, after the media tycoon was sentenced to 20 years in prison under Hong Kong’s National Security Law.
Lai, the founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, was convicted of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and publishing seditious materials. The ruling, delivered on Wednesday (9) at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts, marks the heaviest sentence imposed since the national security law came into force in 2020.
Eight co-defendants, including three former senior editors – Ryan Law, Lam Man-chung, and Fung Wai-kong – received 10-year sentences. Three others, including publisher Cheung Kim-hung, were jailed for 6 years 9 months to 7 years 3 months.
The Hong Kong government welcomed the verdict. In a statement, Chief Executive John Lee described Lai’s actions as “heinous crimes” and said the sentence “demonstrates the rule of law, upholds justice and is deeply satisfying”. The authorities also confirmed that assets linked to the offences would be confiscated in accordance with the law.
However, Lee’s characterisation of the ruling was swiftly challenged by international human rights and press freedom organisations, which condemned the case as a politically motivated prosecution.
In a stark warning, Reporters Without Borders said sentencing the 78-year-old Lai to two decades in prison was “tantamount to a death sentence” and showed that press freedom in Hong Kong had “completely collapsed”.
Its secretary-general, Thibaut Bruttin, urged democratic governments to stop prioritising the normalisation of relations with China and instead exert sustained pressure on Beijing and the Hong Kong authorities, warning that the international community must not allow Lai to suffer the same fate as late Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo. He also called for the release of all imprisoned journalists.
Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific office described the sentencing as a grim turning point in Hong Kong’s transformation from a city governed by the rule of law to one ruled by fear. Deputy regional director Sarah Brooks said jailing an elderly man solely for exercising his fundamental rights demonstrated a profound disregard for human dignity, adding that every day Lai remains behind bars constitutes a grave injustice.
Human Rights Watch echoed the criticism. Asia director Elaine Pearson said the 20-year sentence was “effectively a death sentence” , both cruel and deeply unjust and reflected the Chinese government’s determination to crush independent journalism and silence anyone who dares to criticise the authorities.
Jodie Ginsberg, chief executive of the Committee to Protect Journalists, said the rule of law in Hong Kong had been “completely shattered”, describing the verdict as the final nail in the coffin for press freedom. She said the international community must urgently intensify pressure on the authorities.
The Hong Kong Human Rights Information Centre said the case illustrated a fundamental shift in the city’s legal environment, warning that treating national security cases as exempt from international human rights standards would undermine Hong Kong’s standing in global rule-of-law assessments.
The European Union expressed regret over the sentencing, saying the prosecution of Lai and Apple Daily journalists had severely damaged Hong Kong’s international reputation. It called on the authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Lai and to end the prosecution of journalists. UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper also described the case as a politically motivated prosecution, saying that a 20-year sentence for a 78-year-old man was effectively a life sentence, and urged the Hong Kong authorities to release Lai on humanitarian grounds.