Reporters Without Borders (RSF) strongly condemns the 20-year prison sentence handed to Apple Daily founder and publisher Jimmy Lai on bogus charges. This amounts to a death sentence, as the health of the 78-year old British citizen — a global icon of press freedom held for five years in shocking conditions — is rapidly deteriorating. RSF calls on the UK and governments worldwide to intervene to secure Jimmy Lai’s immediate and unconditional release so he can finally return home and reunite with his family. On February 9, 2026, Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison under Hong Kong’s draconian National Security Law, including spurious charges of "collusion with foreign forces” and conspiring to publish “seditious” material. Prosecutors cited more than 160 Apple Daily articles as examples of “seditious publications.” Forced to close by Hong Kong authorities in June 2021, Apple Daily was the territory’s largest mainstream independent newspaper, known for delivering independent reporting. His guilty verdict was delivered on December 15, 2025, but sentencing has been delayed by two months.Jimmy Lai was tried alongside six former senior staff at Apple Daily. CEO Cheung Kim-hung received six years and nine months in prison; chief editor Ryan Law Wai-kwong, 10 years; executive editor-in-chief Lam Man-chung, 10 years; associate publisher Chan Pui-man, seven years; managing editor of the English edition Fung Wai-kong, 10 years; and lead editorial writer Yeung Ching-kee, seven years and three months. Two other co-accused, pro-democracy activist Chan Tsz-wah, and activist Andy Li, were respectively sentenced to six years and three months, and seven years and three months. Li is believed to be forcibly held in a high-security psychiatric institution in Hong Kong. “Today, the curtain falls on press freedom in Hong Kong. We are outraged by the harsh sentences handed down to Jimmy Lai and the senior staff of Apple Daily. This court decision underscores the complete collapse of press freedom in Hong Kong and the authorities’ profound contempt for independent journalism. From Lai’s arrest to his trial and conviction, this legal process has been nothing more than a sham. Democracies, such as the UK and the US, must stop prioritizing the normalization of relations with China and instead exert pressure on the Chinese regime and Hong Kong authorities to ensure that Jimmy Lai and all other journalists are released from prison. We have already witnessed press freedom defender Liu Xiaobo die in prison due to insufficient international pressure. We cannot allow Jimmy Lai to suffer a similar fate. His sentence must not become a death sentence." Thibaut Bruttin
RSF Director General Lai, a laureate of the RSF Press Freedom Award, has been detained since December 2020. Subjected to harsh solitary confinement, he is restricted to only 50 minutes of “exercise” per day in a metal cage, resulting in a significant deterioration of his health. His family has warned that his fingernails have fallen off and his teeth have rotted, and that he has suffered severe weight loss. RSF has been relentlessly campaigning for the release of Apple Daily staff since the day of Lai’s arrest. In 2023, the RSF team traveled to attend the opening of the publisher’s trial, and in 2024, an RSF representative was detained and deported from Hong Kong while on the way to a hearing in his case. In January 2026, RSF wrote to British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer urging him to secure the release of Jimmy Lai during Starmer’s visit to China, and in August 2025 RSF and a coalition of 72 NGOs sounded the alarm about his deteriorating health. In June 2025, RSF along with a group of former Apple Daily journalists now in exile, published a special revival edition of the paper that pays tribute to this renowned media outlet.Since 2020, the Hong Kong government has prosecuted at least 28 journalists, eight of whom are currently detained. Hong Kong is ranked 140th in the 2025 RSF World Press Freedom Index, having plummeted down the rankings from 18th place in just two decades. China ranks 178th of the 180 countries and territories surveyed. --
REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS / REPORTERS SANS FRONTIÈRES (RSF)Peter JonesPress and Communications Manager, Washington, DC Bureaupjones@rsf.org(202) 813-9497, ext 3 |
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