Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 05:00am on 09 Feb 2026,Monday International
Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy advocate Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to 20 years in prison under the city’s national security law after being convicted in December of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and publishing seditious material through his now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper. The ruling by three judges comes after a legal saga beginning with his arrest in August 2020 and marks one of the most high-profile applications of the Beijing-imposed law. Lai, 78, will serve this term alongside nearly six years from a previous fraud conviction. The sentence has drawn international criticism as emblematic of declining press freedom in Hong Kong. (PC: AFP)
