Britain, the United Nations, and the European Union (EU) strongly pushed back in unison against the 20-year prison sentence handed down in Hong Kong to pro-democracy figure Jimmy Lai on charges of violating the National Security Act. The international community called the ruling a politically motivated prosecution and criticized it as "an enormous injustice," urging his immediate release.
According to the Guardian on the 9th (local time), Lai, a British citizen and former founder of Apple Daily, was convicted in a Hong Kong court of one count of conspiracy to produce seditious publications and two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces, and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. The collusion with foreign forces charges were brought under Hong Kong's National Security Act. The sentence is the heaviest imposed since the National Security Act took effect.
U.K. Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said in a statement that "the 20-year sentence handed to 78-year-old Lai is effectively a life sentence," calling it "a political prosecution under a law designed to silence critics of China." Cooper said, "Hong Kong authorities should end Jimmy Lai's suffering and release him immediately so he can reunite with his family."
Volker Türk, the U.N. high commissioner for human rights, also said the ruling violated international human rights law. He said, "This case starkly illustrates how the vague and overly broad provisions of Hong Kong's National Security Act are being interpreted and enforced in ways that infringe international human rights obligations," adding, "The ruling should be quashed."
The EU likewise expressed strong regret. EU Spokesperson Anita Hipper said, "The EU deplores this verdict after a prolonged prosecution," and "calls for Lai's immediate and unconditional release." International human rights groups also issued statements in unison, voicing concern that judicial independence and press freedom in Hong Kong have been gravely undermined.
Lai's son, Sebastien Lai, said, "My father fears he may end his life alone without being able to see his family again." He said, "The verdict was in some ways expected," but added, "We were still deeply shocked when we saw the actual sentence." Lai's international legal team called him "the most high-profile political prisoner in the world today."
The former chairman Lai is a journalist and entrepreneur who founded Apple Daily, a leading pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong. Once counted among the wealthiest people in Hong Kong, he has been seen as an unusual figure even among the city's elite for openly criticizing the Chinese Communist Party. Apple Daily was shut down in 2021, the year after his arrest, under pressure from authorities.
Lai was arrested just weeks after the National Security Act took effect in Hong Kong in 2020. The law was introduced by China after the mass pro-democracy protests that roiled Hong Kong in 2019 and 2020, and critics have said it is a tool to criminalize dissent. In fact, since the National Security Act took effect, Hong Kong's press freedom rankings and levels of civil liberties have fallen sharply.
China and Hong Kong authorities argue that the National Security Act is a measure to restore social stability. Hong Kong Chief Executive John Lee said, "Lai's crimes are grave and his misdeeds are beyond measure," adding, "The 20-year sentence is the result of the rule of law at work." China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs also said the prosecution was "lawful and justified," pushing back against what it called foreign interference in internal affairs.
The international community, however, sees the ruling as a symbolic sign that Hong Kong is no longer a region guaranteed a high degree of autonomy. With Lai's heavy sentence, the international controversy surrounding Hong Kong's National Security Act is expected to spread further.