A three-judge panel of Hong Kong’s Court of First Instance on Monday found media tycoon and pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper founder Jimmy Lai guilty on sedition and national security charges. These include conspiracy to publish seditious material and two counts of conspiracy to collude with a foreign country or external elements to endanger national security. The verdict has resulted in outcry among international rights observers, who assert that Lai’s conviction is contrary to principles of press freedom.

The court found that Lai, following the introduction of a controversial 2019 extradition bill, used his position at Apple Daily to call for international sanctions against China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government. The ruling also found that Lai sought:

to carry out a consistent campaign with a view to undermine the legitimacy or authority of the [Central People’s Government (CPG)], the HKSAR Government and their institutions and harming the relation between the CPG and the HKSAR Government with the people of Hong Kong.

Counts 2 and 3 were filed in part under Hong Kong’s 2020 National Security Law (NSL), which outlawed subversion of state power and collusion with foreign entities, among other new offenses. The judges held that Lai toned down his pro-democracy activism following the NSL’s enactment, but still violated the law due to failure to change the “substance” of his writings and Apple Daily’s editorial output.

Lai’s family and supporters denounced the verdict, with Lai’s son Sebastian saying: “We have always known that my father was being prosecuted solely for his courageous journalism and unwavering commitment to democracy. Today’s conviction is the culmination of years of persecution at the hands of the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities. It is an attack on the values we all hold dear.” Sebastian Lai also called on the UK government to help secure his father’s release due to Jimmy Lai’s status as a British national.

International counsel for Lai, Caoilfhionn Gallagher, said:

Today’s verdict is a stain on a once enviable Hong Kong legal system. A brave, brilliant 78-year-old man has been convicted in this vindictive and grossly unfair verdict, condemned for nothing more than being a successful publisher and journalist and a dedicated peaceful pro-democracy campaigner.

Hong Kong’s legal and political systems have come under fire from critics in recent years due to a shift towards mainland China. Several foreign judges in Hong Kong resigned in 2024 amid concerns that their participation in Hong Kong’s courts could legitimize attacks on civil liberties.

Lai has been in custody since 2020 and has already been convicted of unlawful assembly in relation to a 2019 protest. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison on the conspiracy charges.