The International Press Institute has also issued a statement criticising Jimmy Lai\u2019s 20-year prison sentence, saying:<\/p>\n
“The IPI global network stands together in strongly condemning this outrageous and inhumane prison sentence for Jimmy Lai. This sentence only shows the lengths Chinese authorities will go to stifle press freedom and democracy in Hong Kong.<\/p>\n
Jimmy\u2019s unwavering commitment to press freedom \u2014 in the face of brutal conditions \u2014 has made him a powerful symbol of courage and resilience worldwide. IPI will continue to work with our press freedom allies around the world to push for his immediate release. We strongly urge the UK, US.and other states to use all diplomatic means at their disposal to secure Lai\u2019s release on humanitarian grounds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Share<\/a>Human Rights Watch on Jimmy Lai’s sentence: ‘Effectively a death sentence’<\/p>\n The Human Rights Watch has condemned Jimmy Lai\u2019s 20-year prison sentence, saying that it is \u201ceffectively a death sentence.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement released shortly after the 78-year old former media mogul was handed his sentence, Elaine Pearson, the Asia director at Human Rights Watch said:<\/p>\n \u201cThe harsh 20-year sentence against 78-year-old Jimmy Lai is effectively a death sentence. A sentence of this magnitude is both cruel and profoundly unjust. Lai\u2019s years of persecution show the Chinese government\u2019s determination to crush independent journalism and silence anyone who dares to criticize the Communist Party.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Hong Kong court not inclined to give Jimmy Lai sentence deductions due to health conditions<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Hong Kong<\/a> court said that it is not inclined to give Jimmy Lai any deductions in his prison sentence due to the 78-year old\u2019s medical conditions.<\/p>\n In December, Lai\u2019s family raised alarm over his deteriorating health, with the former media mogul\u2019s children pointing to his dramatic weight loss, as well as declining dental conditions and nails turning green before falling off.<\/p>\n Speaking to Agence France-Presse last December, Lai\u2019s daughter Claire said: \u201cHe has lost a very significant amount of weight, visibly, and he is a lot weaker than he was before.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Jimmy Lai on whether he will appeal: ‘No comment’<\/p>\n Jimmy Lai, who has been sentenced to 20 years in prison, did not provide details on whether he will appeal his sentence handed down by the Hong Kong<\/a> court.<\/p>\n \u201cNo comment,\u201d the 78-year old said.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Reporters Without Borders: ‘Today the curtain falls on press freedom in Hong Kong’<\/p>\n Reporters Without Borders has issued a statement condemning Jimmy Lai\u2019s 20-year prison sentence.<\/p>\n Thibaut Bruttin, the nonprofit organization\u2019s head, said:<\/p>\n \u201cToday, the curtain falls on press freedom in Hong Kong. We are outraged by the harsh sentences handed down to Jimmy Lai. This court decision underscores the complete collapse of press freedom in Hong Kong and the authorities\u2019 profound contempt for independent journalism.<\/p>\n From Lai\u2019s arrest to his trial and conviction, this legal process has been nothing more than a sham. Democracies, such as the UK and the US, must stop prioritising the normalisation of relations with China and instead exert pressure on the Chinese regime and Hong Kong authorities to ensure that Jimmy Lai and all other journalists are released from prison.\u201d<\/p>\n In reference to Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel laureate and political prisoner who died in Chinese custody in 2017 after his arrest by Chinese authorities in 2009 on suspicion of \u201cinciting subversion of state power,\u201d Bruttin added:<\/p>\n \u201cWe have already witnessed press freedom defender Liu Xiaobo die in prison due to insufficient international pressure. We cannot allow Jimmy Lai to suffer a similar fate. His sentence must not become a death sentence.\u201d<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Hong Kong court says Jimmy Lai was ‘mastermind’ in foreign collusion conspiracies<\/p>\n According to the Hong Kong<\/a> court, Jimmy Lai\u2019s foreign collusion conspiracies were \u201cwell planned\u201d and \u201cpremeditated.\u201d<\/p>\n The court added that Lai\u2019s offenses were of a \u201cgrave nature\u201d and that the conspiracies he had been found guilty of were of the \u201cmost serious\u201d category.\u201d<\/p>\n Moreover, the court said that Lai\u2019s 20-year prison sentence was enhanced by the fact that he was the \u201cmastermind\u201d and driving force behind foreign collusion conspiracies.<\/p>\n Lai, a British citizen and founder of the now defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was found guilty last December of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, as well as one count of publishing seditious materials.<\/p>\n Lai, who has been a vocal critic of the Chinese Communist party, was arrested <\/a>in August 2020 following Beijing\u2019s imposition of a national security law in Hong Kong in response to the city\u2019s pro-democracy protests at the time.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Jimmy Lai\u2019s wife, Teresa, is reported to have left the courthouse following her husband\u2019s sentencing to 20 years in prison.<\/p>\n The BBC reports<\/a> that Teresa wore dark sunglasses and tried to hold back tears as she exited.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Following Jimmy Lai\u2019s sentencing, the 78-year old former media mogul smiled and waved at the public gallery, the New York Times reports.<\/a> <\/a><\/p>\n According to the outlet, Lai\u2019s wife, Teresa, sat expressionless and had her arms folded. Others weeped in the courtroom.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Esther Toh, one of the government-vetted judges overseeing Lai\u2019s sentencing, said that she would not read the 47-page sentencing document and instead said that it will be made publicly available shortly after proceedings end, the Hong Kong Free Press reports. <\/a><\/p>\n Share<\/a>78-year old Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years<\/p>\n Jimmy Lai, 78-years old, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison by the West Kowloon Magistrates Courts.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a021.12 EST<\/p>\n Judges enters courtroom for Jimmy Lai’s sentencing<\/p>\n The judges overseeing Jimmy Lai\u2019s sentencing have entered the courtroom.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Jimmy Lai enters court for his sentencing<\/p>\n Jimmy Lai has entered court for sentencing in his national security trial. <\/p>\n A prison van part of the convoy carrying Jimmy Lai arrives at West Kowloon Magistrates Courts where the sentencing of media tycoon Jimmy Lai will take place in Hong Kong, February 9, 2025. Photograph: Vernon Yuen\/Nexpher\/ZUMA Press Wire\/ShutterstockShare<\/a><\/p>\n Here are some more images coming through the newswires from Hong Kong<\/a> where Jimmy Lai is expected to be sentenced soon:<\/p>\n Retired Chinese cardinal Joseph Zen Ze-Kiun, left, and Jimmy Lai’s wife Teresa Lai arrive at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts ahead of the sentencing for former Hong Kong publisher Jimmy Lai n Hong Kong, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. Photograph: Chan Long Hei\/APMatthias Kauffman, deputy head of the European Union Office to Hong Kong and Macao, arrive at the courthouse as officers stand guard, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. Photograph: Vernon Yuen\/Nexpher\/ZUMA Press Wire\/ShutterstockShare<\/a><\/p>\n Here are some images of Jimmy Lai at pro-democracy protests across Hong Kong<\/a> over the years:<\/p>\n Media mogul Jimmy Lai wearing goggles appears outside government headquarters to join a protest in Hong Kong, Sept. 28, 2014. Photograph: Vincent Yu\/APJimmy Lai stands in the crowd taking part in a sit-in called \u2018Occupy Central\u2019 or \u2018Umbrella revolution\u2019 in Connaught road, Admirality, Hong Kong, on October 2, 2014. Photograph: Lucas Schifres\/Getty ImagesFounding chairman of the Democratic Party in Hong Kong and \u2018Father of Democracy\u2019 Martin Lee (Lee Chu-Ming, left) and Next media mogul Jimmy Lai (Lai Chee-Ying) take part in a candlelight vigil to commemorate the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square Crackdown on June 4, 2015 in Victoria Park, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong. Photograph: Lucas Schifres\/Getty ImagesJimmy Lai, center, holds a banner as he marches along Queen\u2019s Road Central during a protest in the Central district of Hong Kong, China, on Sunday, Aug. 18, 2019. Photograph: Bloomberg\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n Progressing from child labourer to billionaire, Jimmy Lai<\/a> used his power and wealth to promote democracy, which ultimately pitted him against authorities in Beijing.<\/p>\n The Guardian\u2019s Helen Davidson and Amy Hawkins chronicle Lai\u2019s rise and fall:<\/p>\n Lai\u2019s trial was one of the last unfinished national security prosecutions of Hong Kong\u2019s high profile activists, over their involvement in the 2019 protests. Hundreds of activists, lawyers, and politicians have been pursued and jailed, or chased into exile. But few have captured global attention like Lai, whose life and career has developed in tangent with Hong Kong\u2019s sputtering walk towards democracy, and then its fall.<\/p>\n \u201cThe trajectory of his life reflects the history of Hong Kong itself,\u201d said Kevin Yam, a Australian-Hong Kong lawyer, who is subject to a Hong Kong arrest warrant for his pro-democracy activism.<\/p>\n For the full story, click here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a020.52 EST<\/p>\n The British son of the jailed Hong Kong<\/a> media entrepreneur Jimmy Lai has criticised the UK government for failing to place conditions on his father\u2019s release during the prime minister\u2019s visit to China last week.<\/p>\n Speaking at a parliamentary hearing on Tuesday, Sebastien Lai said his father\u2019s incarceration<\/a> was not only a humanitarian and national security issue, but an issue \u201cwhere our values are being locked up\u201d along with him.<\/p>\n The remarks come after the first trip to China by a UK leader in eight years, during which Keir Starmer is said to have raised the case of the former media tycoon<\/a> and one of Hong Kong\u2019s most significant pro-democracy voices.<\/p>\n Weeks before the prime minister\u2019s visit, it is understood Lai met with the foreign secretary, Yvette Cooper, and discussed the importance of his father\u2019s case as well as the 78-year-old\u2019s deteriorating health in solitary confinement.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it is so important then surely there should be some conditionalities put on my father\u2019s release. The trip was a big thing to have been given away, the embassy as well,\u201d said Lai, speaking at an all-party parliamentary group on arbitrary detention and hostage affairs<\/a> hearing on his father\u2019s case.<\/p>\n For the full story, click here:<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Here are some images coming through the newswires from Hong Kong<\/a> where Jimmy Lai is expected to be sentenced later today:<\/p>\n Police keep watch outside the West Kowloon Magistrates\u2019 Court in Hong Kong on February 9, 2026, for the sentencing of convicted pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai. Photograph: Peter Parks\/AFP\/Getty ImagesMembers of the media wait outside the West Kowloon Magistrates\u2019 court in Hong Kong on February 9, 2026, for the sentencing of convicted pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai. Photograph: Peter Parks\/AFP\/Getty ImagesPeople queue to enter the West Kowloon Magistrates\u2019 Courts building for sentencing in the national security collusion trial of Jimmy Lai, founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, in Hong Kong, China, February 9, 2026. Photograph: Tyrone Siu\/ReutersShare<\/a>Opening Summary<\/p>\n Jimmy Lai<\/a>, Hong Kong\u2019s former media mogul is set to be sentenced on Monday, following a months-long trial in which the 78-year old was convicted on national security offences.<\/p>\n Lai, a British citizen and founder of the now defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was found guilty last December of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, as well as one count of publishing seditious materials.<\/p>\n At the time of his verdict, Esther Toh, one of the three government-vetted national security judges who oversaw Lai\u2019s trial, wrote:<\/a> \u201cThere is no doubt in our mind that the first defendant never wavered in his intention to destabilise the governance of the CCP [Chinese Communist party], and despite the enactment of the national security law, he was intent on continuing, though in a less explicit way.\u201d<\/p>\n Lai, who has been a vocal critic of the Chinese Communist party, was arrested <\/a>in August 2020 following Beijing\u2019s imposition of a national security law in Hong Kong in response to the city\u2019s pro-democracy protests at the time.<\/p>\n Lai\u2019s arrest and conviction had been widely monitored and criticised by the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union.<\/p>\n In December, US president Donald Trump urged Chinese president Xi Jinping to \u201cconsider\u201d releasing Lai, saying: <\/a>\u201cI feel so badly\u2026 He\u2019s an older man and he\u2019s not well. So I did put that request out. We\u2019ll see what happens, okay?\u201d. Meanwhile, upon returning from his trip to China last month, UK prime minister Keir Starmer, told UK parliament: \u201cI raised the case of Jimmy Lai and called for his release.\u201d<\/p>\n Stay tuned as we bring you the latest updates from Lai\u2019s sentencing.<\/p>\n![\"Geneva](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1770643688_565_Geneva_Abdul.png\")
Geneva Abdul<\/p>\n