CPJ condemns Hong Kong’s conviction of Jimmy Lai in national security case

New York, December 14, 2025—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Hong Kong court’s conviction of Jimmy Lai, founder of the defunct pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, in a landmark national security trial and calls on authorities to immediately free the 78-year-old British citizen.

“This sham conviction is a disgraceful act of persecution,” said CPJ Asia-Pacific Director Beh Lih Yi. “The ruling underscores Hong Kong’s utter contempt for press freedom, which is supposed to be protected under the city’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law. Jimmy Lai’s only crime is running a newspaper and defending democracy. The risk of him dying from ill health in prison increases as each day passes — he must be reunited with his family immediately.”

A three-judge panel convicted Lai on December 15 local time of “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces” and “conspiracy to publish seditious material.” The verdict was delivered in front of a packed courtroom at the Hong Kong High Court.

Lai faces a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. He is currently serving a separate sentence of five years and nine months on fraud charges related to a commercial lease dispute.

Lai’s health has worsened after spending five years in a maximum-security prison, mostly in solitary confinement with limited access to daylight and exercise. He has diabetes and has suffered from heart palpitations that require medication. More recently, his children have said that he is losing weight, his teeth are rotting, and his nails are falling off.

The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found last year that Lai — CPJ’s 2021 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award winner — is unlawfully and arbitrarily detained.

Lai’s trial was originally expected to last 30 days when it started in December 2023, but it has faced multiple delays. The publisher took the stand in December 2024, with the prosecution questioning Lai over Apple Daily’s editorial policy, particularly dozens of opinion columns he wrote. The publisher was denied a jury trial and his choice of lawyer.

China consistently ranks as the world’s worst jailer of journalists, with at least 50 behind bars, including seven in Hong Kong, according to CPJ’s latest research.

Besides Lai, six other former Apple Daily senior executives are awaiting sentencing under the National Security Law, after they pleaded guilty to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces in 2022 in return for clemency on another charge. Some have also served as prosecution witnesses.

The Hong Kong government did not immediately respond to CPJ’s emailed request for comment on Lai’s conviction.