Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years in prison for national security crimes

Former Hong Kong media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying was sentenced to 20 years in prison on February 9, 2026. Lai was found guilty in December 2025 on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and a third count of conspiracy to print seditious articles. Prosecutors said Lai had used his now-defunct tabloid newspaper Apple Daily and international connections to push for foreign intervention and sanctions against the local and central governments. The latest sentence means the earliest release date for Lai will be 2044, when he would be 96 years old.