Human rights groups have condemned a 20-year jail sentence for the 78 year-old former Hong Kong media owner Jimmy Lai, describing it as effectively a death sentence.
The three-judge panel said Lai’s conviction under the National Security Law of colluding with foreign forces and publishing seditious material was for offences of a grave nature that demanded a heavy sentence.
Under the law imposed by Beijing in 2020, offences of a grave nature carry a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum life term. The judges set 15 years as the baseline for the conspiracy offences but added three years for Lai’s role as the “mastermind” and driving force behind the actions.
The judges cited evidence that Lai had encouraged the US and other countries to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and the government in Beijing in response to the crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations.
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They rejected a request from his lawyers that he should receive a lighter sentence on account of his age, the state of his health or the fact he had chosen to be held in solitary confinement.
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“The general rule is that medical grounds will seldom, if ever, be a basis for reducing the sentence for crimes of gravity,” the judges said.
“In the present case, there is nothing to suggest that the medical attention provided to Lai by the Correctional Services Department is or has been inadequate to deal with his conditions.”
They acknowledged, however, that the combination of Lai’s age, health condition and solitary confinement would make his life in prison more burdensome. So they shaved one year off the sentence for each conspiracy count and one month off the lesser sentence for publishing seditious material so that he can expect to serve 18 years in jail.
This means he would be 96 years old before his release and Human Rights Watch’s Asia director Elaine Pearson said it was effectively a death sentence.
“A sentence of this magnitude is both cruel and profoundly unjust. Lai’s years of persecution show the Chinese government’s determination to crush independent journalism and silence anyone who dares to criticise the Communist Party,” she said.
Amnesty International said Lai was a prisoner of conscience who should never have spent a single day behind bars. They demanded that the Hong Kong authorities should immediately and unconditionally release him.
“With this ruling we see yet again how Hong Kong’s national security law is being used to distort fundamental freedoms into criminal acts. Jimmy Lai’s imprisonment is a cold-blooded attack of freedom of expression that epitomises the systematic dismantling of rights that once defined Hong Kong,” Amnesty’s deputy regional director Sarah Brooks said.
Lai smiled and waved at wellwishers when he appeared in court for the sentencing on Monday morning. His wife, Teresa, arrived at the court with retired cardinal Joseph Zen, a former bishop of Hong Kong.
“Sentencing my father to this draconian prison sentence is devastating for our family and life-threatening for my father,” Lai’s son Sebastian said in a statement. “It signifies the total destruction of the Hong Kong legal system and the end of justice.”
Hong Kong’s chief executive John Lee said Lai deserved the sentence, which he described as upholding the rule of law and delivering justice, adding that it was widely applauded.
“For a long period, Lai used Apple Daily to poison residents’ minds, incite hatred, distort facts, deliberately sow social division, glorify violence and openly call for external forces to sanction mainland and Hong Kong officials,” he says.
“His actions sacrificed the wellbeing of the people, betrayed the country, harmed Hong Kong and damaged the interests of both the nation and the city.”
