Hong Kong, 20 years in jail for pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai | EUROtoday

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Jimmy Lai was sentenced to twenty years in jail: the West Kowloon court docket prevented life imprisonment, the utmost potential sentence, however imposed a really harsh sentence on the previous Hong Kong media magnate, one of many predominant pro-democracy activists of the previous British colony, contemplating his 78 years of age and precarious well being circumstances. Lai was discovered responsible in December on two counts of collusion associated to the nationwide safety regulation imposed by Beijing in June 2020, after the mass pro-democracy protests of 2019, and one other associated to sedition, primarily based on a colonial regulation.

Lai’s sentence got here on the finish of a trial that lasted over two years, rigorously adopted by world leaders and human rights activists. The former tycoon, founding father of the now-shuttered Apple Daily newspaper, denied the costs in the course of the proceedings, claiming he was a political prisoner. The ruling was issued by a panel of three nationwide safety judges, personally chosen by Hong Kong’s chief govt, John Lee. The listening to lasted lower than 10 minutes: “After considering Lai’s serious criminal conduct, the Court found that the total sentence imposed on him in the present case should be 20 years’ imprisonment,” the gadget reported.

However, two of the 20 years will overlap Lai’s present jail sentence, that means he’ll serve one other 18 years, the judges wrote. The ruling provides additional stress in US-China relations. In 2025, US President Donald Trump reportedly requested his counterpart Xi Jinping to free Lai. The tycoon is predicted to satisfy the chief of Beijing in China in April and the case of the Hong Kong tycoon may find yourself on the agenda. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated he raised the problem of Lai’s launch to Chinese authorities throughout his latest go to to Beijing, with out revealing the response he acquired.

The tycoon, a British citizen since 1996, earlier than the return of Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty, was denied consular entry by the authorities of the previous colony, regardless of repeated requests from the British authorities. China doesn’t settle for twin citizenship and authorities insisted that Lai had not renounced his Chinese citizenship. Lai was convicted together with eight different co-defendants linked to Apple Daily. Six of them had been former executives of the newspaper: they acquired jail sentences starting from over six to 10 years. In January, in mitigation hearings, Lai’s attorneys centered closely on his worsening well being. It has been greater than 5 years since Lai was arrested in late 2020, spending most of his time in jail in solitary confinement.

The NGO Human Rights Watch has harshly criticized Jimmy Lai’s 20-year jail sentence, calling it “effectively a death sentence”. “A sentence of this magnitude is cruel and deeply unjust,” commented Elaine Pearson, the organisation’s director for Asia, shortly after the sentence towards the 78-year-old former media mogul, as reported by the Guardian. “The years of persecution suffered by Lai demonstrate the Chinese government’s determination to crush independent journalism and silence anyone who dares to criticize the Communist Party,” he added.