The High Court in Hong Kong on Monday found pro-democracy tycoon Jimmy Lai guilty on two charges of foreign collusion and one charge of sedition.

The high-profile Beijing critic and founder of the Apple Daily newspaper was arrested in 2020, under a national security law that was enforced by China after massive pro-democracy demonstrations in Hong Kong a year before.

The conviction may see him spend the rest of his life in prison. Lai pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Free speech and freedom of assembly in Hong Kong have been severely curtailed since Beijing began encroaching on the city's civil liberties and legislative autonomy.

Those who criticize China, or Hong Kong's Beijing-backed government, face arrest and prosecution under the security laws. 

Many activists have fled or are in jail. Hong Kong's last remaining pro-democracy opposition party was forced to disband in June 2025. 

What the judge said

Judge Esther Toh said that the evidence showed Lai had extended "constant invitations" to the US, in an alleged effort to bring down the Chinese government.

"There is no doubt that the first defendant had harbored his resentment and hatred of the PRC for many of his adult years," Toh said, using an acronym for the People's Republic of China.

Toh said the court was satisfied that Lai was the "mastermind" of the conspiracies and that the only reasonable inference from the evidence was that Lai sought the downfall of the ruling Communist Party.

Timeline of Jimmy Lai's trial

• Lai founded in 1997 the now closed Apple Daily newspaper, 
• Lai's newspaper became one of the most critical news outlets of the government in the territory
• In 2019, massive pro-democracy demonstrations broke out in Hong Kong
• China imposed its national security law in response a year later
• Lai was arrested in 2020
• Lai's assets were frozen in 2021, causing Apple Daily to cease operations
• His trial began in December 2023, and lasted 160 days, more than double the original estimate
• In August, final arguments had to be delayed due to concerns over his health, after he reported heart palpitations

Media advocacy groups slam trial

Press freedom watchdog, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the decision in a statement issued after the verdict.

“Jimmy Lai’s conviction is a disgraceful act of persecution. 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,"  CPJ regional director Beh Lih Yi said on social media platform X. 

"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,” she added.

Ahead of the verdict, Reporters Without Borders said Lai had "endured five years in prison under appalling conditions simply for doing his job as a founder of one of the most renowned and independent media outlets in Hong Kong."

"The trial can only be described as a sham and has nothing to do with the rule of law," the media advocacy group said.

Taiwan, which also faces immense pressure from Beijing, condemned the ruling, and called for Lai's release. 

"This ruling serves as a declaration to the world that Hong Kong's freedoms, democracy, and judicial independence have been systematically eroded," Taiwan's China-policy making Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement.

The UK's Foreign Office in a statement condemned the verdict as "politically motivated." Germany's Foreign Office also called it "very worrying."

Edited by: Rana Taha, Wesley Rahn