Hong Kong court gives Jimmy Lai 20-year term in national security case

The Hong Kong High Court on Monday sentenced media tycoon Jimmy Lai to a total of 20 years in prison after finding him guilty of collusion with foreign forces and publishing seditious materials, the longest custodial term yet under the national security law Beijing imposed on the city in 2020. The decision marks a significant intensification of legal penalties for high-profile pro-democracy figures and raises fresh tensions with Western governments that have already expressed concern about press freedom in Hong Kong.

Lai was convicted in December 2025 of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and a count of conspiracy to publish seditious material. Summing up the court’s view of the defendant’s conduct, the judges said: “Having stepped back and taking a global view of the total sentence for Lai's serious and grave criminal conduct ... we are satisfied that the total sentence for Lai in the present case should be 20 years' imprisonment.”

The High Court hearing took place at West Kowloon and was presided over by a three-judge panel that handed down penalties in an hour-long session that also addressed several Apple Daily executives, companies tied to the now-defunct tabloid, and two activists. The court ordered that 18 years of Lai’s new sentence be served consecutively to an earlier fraud term, a judge said in court, noting that Lai had previously been handed a five years and nine months sentence for fraud. “Judge Esther Toh said 18 years of Lai's sentence should be served consecutively to his jail term in his fraud case, for which he received a sentence of five years and nine months.”

Lai, 78, is the founder of Apple Daily, a once-booming pro-democracy tabloid that folded under pressure and legal action. An outspoken critic of Beijing, he was first arrested in 2020 after alleged breaches of the national security framework and has faced multiple prosecutions since, including a separate fraud conviction in December 2022 that carried a 69-month term. He has been detained for more than five years amid successive charges and trials.

Security around West Kowloon was visibly tight. Dozens of riot-control officers and barricades guarded court entrances and a heavily armoured tactical vehicle was observed outside the complex. Around 15 representatives from Western consulates attended, reflecting international interest in the case. Lai’s wife, Teresa Li Wan-kam, and retired Cardinal Joseph Zen were present in the public gallery, where some attendees were seen crying before Lai left the courtroom.

Human Rights Watch criticized the sentence. Elaine Pearson, the group's Asia director, said: “A sentence of this magnitude is both cruel and profoundly unjust.” Hong Kong and mainland officials have repeatedly rejected international criticism of the prosecutions as unwarranted interference, maintaining that the security law is necessary to safeguard order.

Legal teams for Lai may pursue appeals, and the conviction will intensify debate over the future of dissent and a free press in the city. Internationally, the ruling is likely to affect diplomatic dialogue with Beijing and further underscore how the security law has reshaped Hong Kong’s political landscape since its introduction in 2020.