Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai may complete non-national security jail terms by June: prosecutor
Prosecutor says with one-third guilty plea discount factored in, Lai may finish sentences for four other criminal cases on June 11
The 78-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily is the most prominent figure yet to be convicted under the national security law imposed by Beijing in June 2020.
The judges, all hand-picked by the chief executive to oversee national security proceedings, ruled that Lai continued to use his tabloid-style newspaper and political connections to instigate foreign intervention and sanctions against the local and central governments after collusion became a crime.
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Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai found guilty on all charges in national security trial
The businessman turned activist, who has been detained since December 2020, faces a minimum sentence of 10 years behind bars and up to life imprisonment if the judges conclude that he was a “principal offender” in the collusion conspiracies.
Also in court are six former senior executives of Apple Daily and two young lobbyists, who each pleaded guilty to a count of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces before the start of Lai’s trial. Apple Daily Ltd, Apple Daily Printing Ltd and AD Internet Ltd, the companies responsible for the newspaper’s print and digital operations, were also convicted of the two collusion offences.