Hong Kong court sentences media mogul and dissident Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison

Chan Long Hei/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Why Jimmy Lai was tried

The verdict, announced by a Hong Kong court on Monday, marked the culmination of a process that lasted five years. In December 2025, the 78-year-old Lai was found guilty on three counts: two related to conspiracy with "foreign forces" under Hong Kong's high-profile National Security Law (NSL), and one for publishing seditious materials in the press. For the first two counts, the law provides for the possibility of life imprisonment.

The court found that Lai used his now-closed, formerly very popular tabloid newspaper, Apple Daily, to lobby foreign governments with the aim of imposing sanctions against Hong Kong and China.

The High Court, which then ruled on Lai's case, stated that he harbored "an intense hatred" for the Chinese Communist Party and was "obsessed with the idea of changing the Party's values to those of the Western world." Lai denied the charges.

Jimmy Lai, who was born in mainland China and fled to Hong Kong as a child, was first arrested in August 2020, shortly after the National Security Law came into effect. Lai anticipated arrest and refused to leave Hong Kong, although he held a British passport.

He built a billion-dollar business in China but was a public opponent of the communist regime after the suppression of protests in Beijing's Tiananmen Square in 1989 and participated in protests in Hong Kong himself. He was called one of the most active open supporters of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement.

According to the BBC correspondent on the scene, in announcing the verdict, Judge Esther Toh stated that there was "no doubt" that Jimmy Lai "harbored hatred" towards the People's Republic of China, citing his "constant calls for the US to help overthrow the PRC government under the pretext of assisting Hong Kong residents." This influenced the court's decision, Reuters quotes her as saying.

Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee welcomed the verdict, noting that Lai's actions "damaged the interests of the country and the well-being of Hong Kong residents."

This trial became the most high-profile case of violating Hong Kong's National Security Law, Reuters notes.

Many of Lai's supporters queued outside the courthouse on Friday evening. Some considered it the last opportunity to see Jimmy Lai.

A large police presence was also at the courthouse.

"He helped all Western countries understand the true nature of the Chinese Communist Party. He single-handedly stood against a giant. Even if he loses, in my eyes he will remain a hero," Vincent quotes one of Lai's supporters.

What is the essence of the National Security Law

China initiated the enactment of the National Security Law in 2020 in response to pro-democracy protests that erupted in Hong Kong a year earlier.

It criminalized a wide range of actions expressing dissent with government policies, including anything the state considers separatism, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign forces. The law also made it possible for such cases to be heard not in Hong Kong but on the territory of mainland China.

Critics of the law argued that it curtailed Hong Kong's autonomy and created an atmosphere of fear within it, but authorities in Beijing and Hong Kong insisted that it was necessary to ensure stability.

In 2024, an initiative extending the scope of the National Security Law, known as Article 23, came into force in Hong Kong. It includes treason, incitement to rebellion, etc., and allows for such trials to be conducted in closed sessions, which many critics regarded as a further curtailment of civil liberties.

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