Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years in prison

Hong Kong's High Court sentenced former media mogul Jimmy Lai Chee-ying to 20 years in prison on Monday, following his conviction under the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region National Security Law.

The three national security judges—Esther Toh Lye-ping, Susana Maria D'Almada Remedios, and Alex Lee Wan-tang—handed down the sentence after Lai was found guilty in December on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious materials.

"It is the legislative intent that …the engagement of a foreign entity in endangering national security is generally to be regarded as an offence of a more serious nature which has to be met with a more severe penalty," the court said in a written judgment.

As Lai was also sentenced to five years and nine months behind bars in December 2022 for one count of fraud, an offense of a "totally different nature and the facts of which were also unrelated to the present case", the court ruled that 18 of the total 20-year imprisonment are to be served consecutively to his fraud sentence.

In laying out the grounds for sentencing for Lai, the court noted that he had received adequate medical attention and care during his time in prison.

The court said it was not inclined to reduce Lai's sentence on medical grounds, since these are seldom used as basis for reducing sentences in cases involving grave crimes.