Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years under Hong Kong security law

Hong Kong opposition figure Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison for violating a national security law. The sentence followed a two-year trial. Eight other defendants received more than 10 years each. They include six former Apple Daily executives and two pro-democracy activists.

A national security law, in this context, is the statute under which the court found the offenses. The case was identified as HKSAR v Lai Chee Ying and Others. Lai Chee Ying is another form of Jimmy Lai's name. The report stated the 20-year term and the length of the trial without reproducing the judgment's reasoning.

Apple Daily was a Hong Kong newspaper. Six former executives of that paper were among the eight people sentenced to more than 10 years. Two pro-democracy activists were the other members of that group. The account did not give each of the eight a separate number of years, only that each term exceeded 10.

The trial lasting two years places the sentence at the end of a long proceeding rather than at a short hearing. The report did not say whether Lai would appeal. It also did not list the individual charges count by count. Violation of the national security law was the legal basis named for his 20 years.

Opposition figure and pro-democracy activist were the political descriptions used for Lai and for two of the co-defendants. The six media executives were identified through their former roles at Apple Daily. No fines or asset orders were mentioned. Prison terms were the sanctions reported.

Jimmy Lai's sentence is 20 years after a two-year trial. Eight others, six of them former Apple Daily executives and two of them pro-democracy activists, received more than 10 years each. The case was brought under a national security law. Those prison terms were the reported result.