HKong ex-media tycoon Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years in prison in national security case

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(9 Feb 2026) RESTRICTIONS SUMMARY: ASSOCIATED PRESS Hong Kong - 9 February 2026 1. Wide of Teresa Lai, Jimmy Lai’s wife and Cardinal Joseph Zen walking into court building 2. Various of U.S. and European diplomats walking into court building 3. Various exteriors of court main entrance and police 4. Various of people waiting to go inside court and police 5. SOUNDBITE (Cantonese) Sum Ho, Hong Kong citizen who queued up outside court since Saturday night: "I think the Hong Kong situation now is like today’s weather - grey and covered with dark clouds. Apple Daily was the only platform which carried the voice of the Hongkongers." 6. Various of police cordon line set up outside court STORYLINE: Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy former Hong Kong media tycoon and a fierce critic of Beijing, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Monday. It is one of the most prominent cases prosecuted under a China-imposed national security law that has virtually silenced the city’s dissent. Judge Esther Toh said 18 years of Lai’s sentence should be served consecutively to his jail term in his fraud case, for which he received a sentence of five years and nine months. Lai can appeal his case. His co-defendants received jail terms between six years and three months and 10 years. Three government-vetted judges spared the 78-year-old Lai the maximum penalty of life imprisonment on charges of conspiring with others to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security, and conspiracy to publish seditious articles. He was convicted in December. Given his age, the prison term still could keep him behind bars for the rest of his life. Before Lai left the courtroom, he looked serious, as some people in the public gallery cried. AP video showed Hong Kong’s outspoken Roman Catholic Cardinal Joseph Zen and Lai’s wife, Teresa arriving earlier in court. They sat together for the sentencing. The democracy advocate's arrest and trial have raised concerns about the decline of press freedom in what was once an Asian bastion of media independence. The government insists the case has nothing to do with a free press, saying the defendants used news reporting as a pretext for years to commit acts that harmed China and Hong Kong. But for Lai supporters, this was a sombre day. Resident Sum Ho, who queued up outside court since Saturday night said that Hong Kong situation now "is like today’s weather - grey and covered with dark clouds." =========================================================== Clients are reminded to adhere to all listed restrictions and to check the terms of their licence agreements. For further assistance, please contact the AP Archive on: Tel +44(0)2074827482 Email: [email protected]. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives ​​ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/efc73ee6748d4dada1587342571a01a6