Who is Jimmy Lai? British citizen and democracy activist sentenced in Hong Kong

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and media mogul Jimmy Lai was being hailed by his supporters as the city’s “conscience” on Monday. sentenced to 20 years in prison on national security charges.

Once upon a time a penniless young refugee came here Hong Kong as a stowawayMr. Lai became one of the city’s most influential media tycoons and now the city’s most prominent political prisoner.

Mr Lai, 78, longest sentence ever given Under Hong Kong’s controversial national security laws, which were implemented in 2020 following citywide protests. The UK government has condemned a prison sentence for the media mogul as “equivalent to the death penalty”, while other countries, including Japan, have also expressed their opinion.

Monday’s sentence represents an effort by Beijing to eliminate what they see as a destabilizing presence, but it also represents a failure by foreign governments – particularly the United Kingdom, of which Mr. Lai is a national – to seek a lighter sentence or secure his release.

Mr Lai has already spent five years behind bars for his role in Hong Kong’s 2019 pro-democracy protests, but only two of those counted as time already served, meaning he will not be released from prison under his current sentence under 2044. He would have been 96 years old.

The sentence came just days after Sir Keir Starmer. Flew to China for first trip to the country by a British leader within eight years. pressure from human rights groups To press for the release of the British citizen.

Mr Starmer, who wrapped up his tour on January 31, said he raised the issue in a meeting with Xi Jinping and had a “respectful” discussion about his imprisonment in the former British colony.

Mr Lai, 77, Founded the Apple Daily newspaperThe company, which was forced to close in June 2021 after a police raid and asset freeze, had pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to collude with foreign powers and conspiring to publish seditious materials.

But after a two-year trial, three judges returned a guilty verdict, with Judge Esther Toh saying Mr Lai’s actions “left no doubt” that he “harbored resentment” against the Chinese government.

He said the court was convinced that Lai was the “mastermind” of conspiracies against the Chinese government and that his evidence was at times contradictory, inconsistent and unreliable.

Who is Jimmy Lai?

Born in mainland China, Mr. Lai fled to Hong Kong at the age of 12, taking refuge on a fishing boat, where he began working as a child laborer in a garment factory.

He built his fortune through his fashion empire, Giordano, before becoming an outspoken defender of democracy in the wake of the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. not thousandsMore protesters fighting for political reforms have been killed in Beijing.

In 1994 Mr Lai became a full British citizen. Although he has never held a Chinese or Hong Kong passport, he is considered a Chinese citizen by Hong Kong authorities.

Mr. Lai started publishing the pro-democracy Chinese-language newspaper Apple Daily before Hong Kong was handed over from Britain to China in 1997, as he aimed to protect freedom of expression in the territory. The newspaper openly criticized the Chinese government.

Why was he imprisoned?

Mr. Lai, a known pro-democracy campaigner, was known to Chinese authorities before the 2019 protests in Hong Kong triggered by Beijing’s growing crackdown on wide-ranging freedoms through the national security law.

Mr Lai called the law “a death knell for Hong Kong” and Apple Daily criticized the reforms while supporting the protesters.

On August 10, 2020, Mr. Lai was arrested along with his sons on charges of fraud and collusion with foreign powers. Later that year, he became the first high-profile person to be charged under the new law for allegedly conspiring and colluding with foreign powers to endanger national security.

He has since been charged and banned in separate cases related to unlawful assembly and other offenses related to pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.

On December 15, Mr. Lai was found guilty of multiple charges. rebel and foreign collusion at a turning point in the city’s history. draconian national security laws And shifting press freedoms.

The judges portrayed Mr. Lai as the organizer of a campaign aimed at pressuring foreign governments to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and China, allegedly aimed at ensuring the “collapse” of the ruling Communist Party. Lai denied all accusations.

The sentencing on February 9 ended a legal saga that spanned almost five years. Three judges hand-picked by Hong Kong’s leadership sentenced Mr. Lai to 20 years in prison on national security charges.

Mr Lai’s 20-year sentence was within the maximum sentencing “band” of 10 years to life imprisonment for crimes of a “serious nature” and is the harshest sentence ever imposed under the new laws.

Three judges said Mr Lai’s sentence was increased because he was the “mastermind” and driving force behind “persistent” foreign collusion conspiracies.

Lai’s health is deteriorating

Mr. Lai spent most of his detention in solitary confinement, and his son has publicly expressed fears for his health.

Millionaire’s son Sebastien Lai claimed last year that his diabetic father had lost a significant amount of weight and was left without independent medical care.

Mr Lai’s lawyer, Robert Pang, told the court that he had some periods where he felt he was about to faint and had heart “palpitations”, which led the court to adjourn the proceedings and order him to be given a heart monitor and medication.

The Hong Kong Freedom Committee Foundation, a US-based non-profit advocacy organisation, said Mr Lai was an iconic figure in the battle between those defending democratic values ​​and Hong Kong’s authoritarian government.

Responding to his conviction in December, the company’s UK and Europe director, Mark Sabah, said: Jimmy Lai It was a grotesque exercise in legal subversion and fraud; A show trial disguised as justice. But what is actually on display is the complete destruction of Hong Kong’s reputation as a global legal centre.

“My father was treated inhumanely,” said his son Sebastien Lai. it has been said before Independent. “But he is defiant and strong. It’s ridiculous for the Prime Minister to make this show of courage. [Sir Keir] “He won’t meet me,” he added.