Jimmy Lai won appeal against fraud conviction but remains imprisoned on national security charges
78-year-old British citizen sentenced to 20 years for colluding with foreign forces
Founded Apple Daily, pro-democracy paper shuttered in 2020
Critics view case as evidence of shrinking civil liberties in Hong Kong
π Full Retelling
Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, a 78-year-old British citizen, won an appeal against his 2022 fraud conviction in Hong Kong on Thursday, with the Court of Appeal quashing the charges that had seen him sentenced to nearly six years in jail for illegally subletting office space. The victory is largely symbolic as Lai remains detained for a separate national security case. Earlier this month, he was sentenced to 20 years in jail for colluding with foreign forces under Hong Kong's national security law. Lai, who has been in custody since 2020, founded Apple Daily in 1995, a pro-democracy tabloid that became Hong Kong's largest paper critical of Beijing. The newspaper was shuttered in 2020 following Lai's arrest and that of other key staff members. The fraud trial centered on allegations that Lai breached lease terms by allowing his private consultancy firm to operate in office space rented by Apple Daily. Wong Wai-keung, a former executive at Lai's media company, was also charged in the same case and received a 21-month jail sentence. Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, who leads Lai's international legal team, stated that Thursday's decision 'changes nothing' and expressed concerns that Lai might die in prison due to his ill health. 'No one should be fooled into thinking that this fraud appeal belatedly succeeding suggests the Hong Kong system operates fairly or justly,' she told the BBC. Critics view Lai's trials and detention as evidence of shrinking civil liberties in Hong Kong, particularly after the implementation of a Beijing-imposed national security law. The UK and US governments recently condemned the law for being used to 'silence' activists like Lai, while Beijing maintains the legislation is necessary for maintaining stability. Lai's family and rights groups have raised concerns about his deteriorating health in prison, with his daughter Claire reporting last December that his teeth were rotting and his fingernails sometimes fall off, though Chinese authorities insist he is 'in good health' and receiving appropriate care.
π·οΈ Themes
Legal persecution, Democratic suppression, Human rights concerns
Apple Daily (Chinese: θζζ₯ε ±; Jyutping: ping4 gwo2 jat6 bou3) was a Chinese-language newspaper published in Hong Kong from 1995 to 2021, with an English-language online edition launched in 2020. Founded by Jimmy Lai and part of Next Media, Apple Daily was known for introducing tabloid journalism to Ho...
Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China. Situated on China's southern coast just south of Shenzhen, it consists of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, and the New Territories. With 7.5 million residents in a 1,114-square-kilometre (430 sq mi) territory, Hong Kong is the fourth-most densely popu...
Lai Chee-ying (Chinese: ι»ζΊθ±; born 8 December 1947), also known as Jimmy Lai, is a Hong Kong businessman and politician. He founded the clothing retailer Giordano, the media company Next Digital (formerly Next Media), and the newspaper Apple Daily. He is one of the main contributors to Hong Kong's pr...
Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai wins appeal against fraud conviction 32 minutes ago Share Save Koh Ewe and Danny Vincent , Hong Kong Share Save Jimmy Lai, Hong Kong's pro-democracy media tycoon, has won an appeal against a fraud conviction in 2022, which had seen him sentenced to nearly six years in jail. On Thursday, Hong Kong's Court of Appeal quashed the convictions of Lai and another defendant who had been accused of illegally subletting office space. But the 78-year-old will remain in prison. Earlier this month, he was sentenced to 20 years in jail for colluding with foreign forces under the city's national security law. Lai, a British citizen, is a fierce critic of Beijing and is one of the biggest figures in Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement. He has been detained since 2020. In 1995, he founded Apple Daily, a local tabloid that was critical of Beijing and became Hong Kong's largest pro-democracy paper. The paper was shuttered in 2020 after Lai and other key staff members were arrested. The paper was at the heart of Lai's fraud trial. Prosecutors argued that Lai breached lease terms by allowing his private consultancy firm to operate in office space that Apple Daily had rented. Wong Wai-keung, a former executive at Lai's media company, was also charged in the same case and jailed for 21 months. Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, who leads Lai's international legal team, said Thursday's decision "changes nothing" and that Lai risks dying in prison because of ill health. "No one should be fooled into thinking that this fraud appeal belatedly succeeding suggests the Hong Kong system operates fairly or justly," she told the BBC. Critics say Lai's trials and detention are a sign of the shrinking civil liberties in Hong Kong, especially after the introduction of a Beijing-imposed national security law. This month, the UK and the US governments said the national security law has been used to "silence" activists like Lai. Beijing and Hong Kong authorities have argued that the law ...
