Jimmy Lai
Political prisoner
Jimmy Lai Chee-ying 黎智英
Age at arrest: 72
Founder, Apple Daily
*Currently in jail
Jimmy Lai is an internationally-respected entrepreneur and a leading pro-democracy campaigner in Hong Kong. He is the founder of Giordano, one of Asia’s largest clothing retailers, and Next Digital (formerly Next Media), formerly Hong Kong’s largest listed media company which published, among other titles, Apple Daily, the largest Chinese-language pro-democracy newspaper until its forced closure in June 2021. He was first arrested under the National Security Law on 10 August 2020 alongside other Next Digital executives. (Photo: HKFP)
Charges, incidents & sentences:
Charge: Conspiracy to publish seditious publications
Incident: Jimmy Lai, Apple Daily Limited, Apple Daily Printing Limited, and AD Internet Limited stand accused of the same conspiracy to print seditious publications charges for publishing pro-democracy materials.
Sentence: 20 years’ imprisonment, 18 years of which to be served in addition to the fraud sentence of 5 years and 9 months (HKFP)
Charge: Two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces
Incident: Lai was accused of conspiring with Mark Simon, Andy Li, Chan Tsz-wah, and Finn Lau between July 2020 and February 2021 to lobby external forces to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and China.
Sentence: 20 years’ imprisonment, 18 years of which to be served in addition to the fraud sentence of 5 years and 9 months
Charge: Organising and participating in an unauthorised assembly
Incident: Causeway Bay march on 18 August 2019
Sentence: 12 months’ imprisonment (HKFP)
Charge: Organising and participating in an unauthorised assembly
Incident: Chater Garden rally on 31 August 2019
Sentence: 8 months’ imprisonment, to be served concurrently with the sentence for the 18 August march except for two months (BBC, CNN)
Charge: Organising and participating in an unauthorised assembly
Incident: Hong Kong Island demonstration on 1 October 2019
Sentence: 14 months’ imprisonment, part of which to be served concurrently with the previous 14-month sentence, extending the jail term to a total of 20 months (Nikkei, Forbes)
Charge: Participating in and inciting others to take part in an unauthorised assembly
Incident: Tiananmen Square massacre candlelight vigil on 4 June 2020
Charge: Fraud
Incident: Jimmy Lai and former Next Digital executive Wong Wai-keung were convicted of fraud over a lease violation of the Apple Daily headquarters. The convictions were quashed by the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal on 26 February 2026.
Sentence: 5 years, 9 months’ imprisonment (The Guardian, HKFP, BBC)
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