Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 20 years in prison under the stringent national security law imposed by China on Hong Kong in 2020. His trial concluded on Saturday after months of court proceedings. The sentence was announced on Monday following his conviction for fuelling anti-China protests.
He was charged with having ties to foreign actors and for publishing seditious content in December 2025.
In their sentencing summary, the judges stated, “After considering the serious and grave criminal conduct of Lai … the Court was satisfied that the total sentence for Lai in the present case should be 20 years’ imprisonment.”
The judges noted that the time Jimmy Lai had already spent in prison would be taken into account, meaning he will now serve 18 years in prison rather than the full 20.
When asked whether the defence would appeal, his lawyer, Robert Pang, responded, “No comment.”
Lai was one of the first prominent figures arrested under the National Security Law following the 2020 Hong Kong protests.
International leaders, including Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as well as Amnesty International and other human rights groups, condemned the conviction.
Starmer, who raised Lai’s case — highlighting his British citizenship — during a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in January, later told the UK Parliament, “I raised the case of Jimmy Lai and called for his release.”
“The 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,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch.
Amnesty International described the case as “another grim milestone in Hong Kong’s transformation from a city governed by the rule of law to one ruled by fear.”
Also read: Media tycoon Jimmy Lai to be sentenced on Monday
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