People take part in a demonstration in support of the Taiwan Apple Daily, the last media company owned by the tycoon Jimmy Lai, on Dec. 14, 2021, in Taipei, Taiwan. Lam Yik Fei/Getty Images
Hong Kong's High Court convicted media entrepreneur and pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai on December 15, 2025, on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious material, concluding one of the territory's most closely watched national security trials.
Lai, a British citizen and founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, had pleaded not guilty. At the time of the verdict, the offenses exposed him to a potential life sentence and prompted renewed criticism from foreign governments and press-freedom groups, while Hong Kong and Chinese authorities defended the prosecution as a lawful national security case.
What the Court Found
The verdict was delivered by a three-judge panel comprising Esther Toh, Alex Lee and Susana Maria D'Almada Remedios. In its 855-page judgment, the court found that Lai had conspired with others to seek sanctions and other actions by foreign governments against China and Hong Kong and had participated in a conspiracy to publish seditious articles through Apple Daily.
The judges characterized Lai as the "mastermind" of the conspiracies and rejected his evidence as unreliable. The court said his advocacy for foreign sanctions before the national security law took effect in June 2020 continued afterward in a less explicit form. Those conclusions were findings of the court; Lai and his defense had disputed the prosecution's case and maintained that his post-law conduct did not amount to the charged offenses.
The proceedings involved two different legal bases. The foreign-collusion counts arose under the national security law imposed by Beijing on Hong Kong in June 2020, while the sedition count concerned a conspiracy to publish seditious material under Hong Kong's Crimes Ordinance.
The Case Against Lai and Apple Daily
Prosecutors argued that Lai used Apple Daily and his international contacts to campaign for sanctions and other foreign pressure on Chinese and Hong Kong officials. The court found that his activities formed part of conspiracies that continued after the national security law came into force.
Lai's defense acknowledged that he had publicly advocated sanctions before the law took effect but argued that he subsequently sought to comply with the new legislation. The judges rejected that account, finding that the change was principally one of presentation rather than purpose.
Apple Daily, which was strongly critical of the Chinese and Hong Kong governments and supported Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement, ceased operations in 2021 after authorities arrested senior figures and froze assets connected to the newspaper.
International Criticism and Hong Kong's Response
The verdict intensified a long-running dispute over the national security law and the state of political and media freedoms in Hong Kong. The British government, which regards Lai as a British national, condemned the prosecution as politically motivated and called for his release. On December 15, 2025, Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office summoned China's ambassador over the verdict.
Two days later, the foreign ministers of the Group of Seven countries and the European Union's foreign-policy chief issued a joint statement criticizing the prosecution and calling for Lai's release. The Committee to Protect Journalists also condemned the conviction and called for his immediate release.
Hong Kong and Chinese authorities have rejected claims that the case was an attack on journalism or political expression. They have maintained that national security prosecutions target conduct prohibited by law rather than political beliefs and have defended the city's courts and national security framework against foreign criticism.
Years in Custody Before the Verdict
Lai had been detained since December 2020 and had spent more than 1,800 days in custody by the time of the verdict, much of that period in solitary confinement. His family and supporters repeatedly raised concerns about his health and prison conditions. Hong Kong authorities disputed allegations that he had been denied adequate treatment, saying that he received appropriate medical care in custody.
At the time of his national security conviction, Lai was also serving a five-year-and-nine-month sentence from a separate fraud case involving the use of Apple Daily premises. That separate conviction would later be overturned, an important distinction from the national security proceedings.
Later Development: Lai Sentenced to 20 Years
The possibility of a life sentence did not become the final outcome. After mitigation proceedings that began in January 2026, the High Court sentenced Lai on February 9, 2026, to a total of 20 years in prison for the three national security and sedition offenses.
The sentence was among the most severe imposed in a Hong Kong national security case. Hong Kong officials welcomed the punishment and said it reflected the seriousness of Lai's offenses. The British government again criticized the prosecution and called for his release, while his family and international supporters continued to campaign on his behalf.
Separate Fraud Conviction Overturned
On February 26, 2026, Hong Kong's Court of Appeal overturned Lai's separate fraud conviction and the five-year-and-nine-month sentence associated with it. The appellate judges concluded that the lower court had erred and quashed the convictions of Lai and another defendant.
That ruling did not disturb Lai's national security convictions or 20-year sentence. He therefore remained imprisoned under the sentence imposed in the national security case.
No Appeal Against the National Security Conviction
A further procedural development came in March 2026. Lai's legal team confirmed that he would not file an appeal against either his national security conviction or the 20-year sentence within the ordinary appeal period. The decision left the December 2025 convictions and February 2026 sentence in place.
Why the Case Matters
Lai's prosecution has become one of the most prominent tests of Hong Kong's post-2020 national security system. Critics, including foreign governments and press-freedom organizations, argue that the case illustrates a broader contraction of political and media freedoms. Hong Kong and Beijing reject that interpretation, saying the security laws are necessary to protect national security and that defendants receive due process under the city's legal system.
The case also highlights the sharp disagreement over how Hong Kong's national security framework interacts with rights to expression, journalism and political advocacy. Those competing interpretations remain central to international debate over the territory's legal and political transformation since the 2019 protests and the introduction of the national security law in 2020.
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