(New York) – The Hong Kong High Court’s sentencing of Jimmy Lai, Apple Daily founder and democracy advocate, to 20 years in prison is a devastating blow to media freedom in the city, Human Rights Watch said today. It is by far the harshest sentence handed down under the National Security Law since the Chinese government imposed the draconian legislation on Hong Kong in June 2020.
Lai, a 78-year-old British citizen, was convicted on December 15, 2025, on two counts of “conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign forces” under the National Security Law and one count of “conspiracy to publish seditious publications” under the Crimes Ordinance. The Hong Kong government should immediately and unconditionally release Lai.
“Hong Kong’s pretrial detention and baseless prosecution of Jimmy Lai since his arrest in 2020 have been marked by unrelenting cruelty,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The 20-year sentence for 78-year-old Lai—effectively life in prison—shows the Chinese government’s determination to crush independent journalism and critics of the Communist Party.”
Six former Apple Daily executives and editors, who previously pleaded guilty to similar charges in the same case, also received severe sentences ranging from 6 years and 9 months to 10 years in prison. Three of them testified against Lai in exchange for reduced sentences.
Two activists linked to the campaign group Stand with Hong Kong, Andy Li and Wayland Chan, also pleaded guilty earlier to “conspiring” with Lai to commit “foreign collusion” and testified against Lai in exchange for lighter sentences. Li and Chan were sentenced to 7 years and 3 months and 6 years and 3 months in prison, respectively.
In its sentencing decision, the court ruled that Lai’s role as the “mastermind and the driving force” behind the “conspiracies” constituted an aggravating factor justifying a longer prison term. The court granted a slight, but inconsequential, sentence deduction due to Lai’s “old age, health condition, and solitary confinement,” but said his “serious and grave criminal conduct” warranted the 20-year sentence.
In response to the ruling, Chief Superintendent Steve Li of the Hong Kong Police Force’s National Security Department said officers were “still investigating some matters” regarding Lai’s case but offered no further details.
Hong Kong authorities deployed a heavy police presence outside the courthouse. On the eve of the hearing, police removed a person from the line outside the court because they had an Apple Daily keychain. Officers searched courtgoers and confiscated items including a UK-flag bandana and Lunar New Year decorations. On the day of the hearing, police separated journalists from the general public and reportedly prevented reporters from speaking to people waiting to attend the proceedings.
Lai’s prosecution was marred by multiple serious violations of fair trial rights, including being tried by judges handpicked by the Hong Kong government, being denied a jury trial, facing prolonged pretrial detention, and being barred from having counsel of his choice. In 2023, the High Court upheld the government’s decision to bar a British lawyer, Timothy Owen, from representing Lai. The authorities also denied Lai consular access from the United Kingdom, in violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, to which China is party.
Lai is already serving a sentence of 5 years and 9 months on charges of “fraud” and “participating in an unauthorized assembly.” He suffers from diabetes and has been held in prolonged solitary confinement, a form of torture, since December 2020. His family has repeatedly raised concerns about his deteriorating health, including heart problems and signs of physical decline.
Prosecuting someone for exercising their right to freedom of expression violates the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which is incorporated into Hong Kong’s legal framework through the city’s de facto constitution, the Basic Law, and expressed in the Bill of Rights Ordinance. Hong Kong’s national security legal regime is incompatible with these human rights guarantees.
Foreign governments, leaders and parliaments have expressed concerns over Lai’s case and called for his release. Australia, the United Kingdom, the United States, as well as the European Union have issued statements criticizing the sentencing, with the EU, US, and UK calling explicitly for Lai’s release.
In recent months, however, many government leaders visiting China have largely avoided raising human rights issues as they seek to expand trade with Beijing. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is expected to visit Beijing in late February, and US President Donald Trump plans to visit in April.
Since 2020, Hong Kong authorities have arrested at least 365 people and convicted 174 people under national security laws, according to official figures; nearly everyone charged is eventually convicted.
Few governments have taken concrete actions in response to Hong Kong’s rapidly deteriorating rights and freedoms. The US imposed sanctions on Chinese and Hong Kong officials in 2020, 2021, and 2025 for abuses linked to the National Security Law, but has been the only government to do so. Australia, the UK and the EU—each of which has a human rights sanctions regime—should impose targeted sanctions on the Chinese and Hong Kong officials most responsible for serious rights violations, Human Rights Watch said.
“Jimmy Lai’s outrageous sentence is a test of the international community’s resolve to defend fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong and China,” Pearson said. “Governments should ensure consequences for the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities responsible for imprisoning a prominent advocate of free speech and democracy.”
