Jimmy Lai, a media mogul and opponent of the Chinese Communist Party, has been sentenced to 69 months in prison after an extensive probationary period.
Lai was sentenced on two counts of fraud related to office leases for his newspaper, Apple Daily.
In addition to the prison sentence, Lai was ordered to pay a fine of approximately US$256,837.
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Lai, 75, was indicted for fraud on December 3, 2019 for allegedly violating the terms of the lease for office space for Next Digital, the media company he founded.
He was indicted again on December 12 under the sweeping national security law imposed by Beijing, on suspicion of colluding with foreign forces and endangering national security.
Lai has yet to face charges under the national security law.
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Hong Kong pro-democracy activist and media mogul Jimmy Lai is escorted by corrections officers to board a prison van before appearing in court in Hong Kong, Saturday, December 12, 2020.
(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Critics at home and abroad say the law amounts to a crackdown on political dissent and free speech that is eroding the rights and freedoms promised to Hong Kong under the “one country, two systems” framework after the handover of British colonial rule in 1997.
Lai is among a series of pro-democracy activists and supporters arrested by Hong Kong police in recent years as authorities intensify their crackdown on dissent in the semi-autonomous Chinese territory.
Tensions between the CCP and its critics have only increased since Lai’s original arrest.
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Protesters hold some white papers with writings commemorating the deadly fire in Urumqi on November 24 during a gathering at the University of Hong Kong, Tuesday, November 29, 2022.
(AP Photo/Bertha Wang)
Chinese citizens feel empowered after protests against “draconian COVID-19 restrictions” prompted Chinese authorities to ease regulations, a human rights researcher told Fox News.
“People are fed up with the restrictions,” said Yaqiu Wang, senior China researcher at Human Rights Watch. “There is so much pent up anger and frustration that there have been massive human rights violations as a result of the restrictions, not because of COVID itself.”
Demonstrations broke out in several cities. in China in the last days of November as residents took to the streets to protest the nation’s “zero-COVID” policies. In some cities, such as Wuhan, protests turned violent as police and residents clashed.
Jon Michael Raasch of Fox News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
