Hong Kong court sentences Catholic pro-democracy media mogul Jimmy Lai to 20 years

Jimmy Lai on Feb. 9 received a 20-year jail sentence in a Hong Kong court. The prominent media mogul’s five-year imprisonment and prosecution has sparked global concerns about China’s communist regime encroaching on civil liberties in Hong Kong.

The severe sentence comes as family members warn Lai’s health has seriously deteriorated during his time in detention, much of which has been spent in solitary confinement. He turned 78 in December 2025.

Lai, founder of the now-defunct Hong Kong newspaper Apple Daily, was arrested and charged in 2020 as Beijing sought to crack down on widespread demonstrations in Hong Kong against the Chinese regime’s imposition of “national security” measures widely viewed as draconian. He was convicted on one charge of conspiring to publish seditious materials and two charges of colluding with foreign forces. ---More...