According to Reuters, sentences were also handed down to six former employees of the now-closed Apple Daily newspaper, founded by Jimmy Lai, with penalties ranging from six to ten years in prison. The judges, announcing their decisions, described the collusion with foreign forces as "deliberate" and "well-planned."
During the hearings held on January 13, the defense requested a lighter sentence. Judge Alex Lee noted that under the national security law, Jimmy Lai could have received a sentence of ten years to life imprisonment. The media tycoon did not plead guilty.
Jimmy Lai, who is now 78 years old, was arrested in August 2020 on charges of violating the national security law enacted in China following mass protests in Hong Kong in 2019. Since his arrest, he has already been convicted of several less serious offenses.
The trial, which began in December 2023 and was conducted without a jury, attracted the attention of the international community, including the United States and European Union countries. In mid-October 2025, at a meeting in South Korea, U.S. President Donald Trump urged Chinese President Xi Jinping to release Jimmy Lai, but received no response.
