Three judges in Hong Kong have convicted media tycoon Jimmy Lai on all counts in his national security trial, which lasted more than a year and a half. Lai denied two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one of conspiracy to print seditious articles. Sentencing details will follow written mitigation submissions due in early January.
Three Hong Kong judges delivered their verdict on Monday, December 15, 2025, in the high-profile national security trial of former media boss Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, finding him guilty on all charges after more than a year and a half of proceedings.
The 78-year-old founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily has spent most of the past five years in solitary confinement, an arrangement at his own request, following his denial of bail in December 2020. Lai, a businessman turned opposition activist, is the most prominent figure prosecuted under the national security law imposed by Beijing in June 2020.
The court found that between April 2019 and June 2021, Lai used his news outlet and social media platforms to trigger international sanctions and incite public disaffection toward authorities. He also provided financial backing to the “Fight for Freedom, Stand with Hong Kong” lobbying group to instigate hostile actions by the West.
The three companies he owned—Apple Daily Limited, Apple Daily Printing Limited, and AD Internet Limited—were also convicted under the national security law.
The judge stated that written mitigation will be submitted to the court before 4pm on January 2, 2025, with the sentencing date to be announced as soon as possible. This case highlights the impact of Hong Kong's national security law on media and activists.
