A Hong Kong court on Saturday sentenced media magnate and activist Jimmy Lai to five years and nine months in prison for fraud. This is reported by international news agencies. The founder of the now defunct pro-democracy newspaper AppleDaily is a well-known critic of the Chinese government and its influence on Hong Kong.
The 75-year-old Lai has made parts of his editorial building available to other companies under illegal conditions, the judge says. In addition to the prison sentence, he also received a fine of two million Hong Kong dollars (about 243,000 euros). In 2020, Lai was already sentenced to 20 months in prison for attending a Tiananmen commemoration that was banned due to the corona pandemic.
Another case against Lai is expected to resume in the coming week; he is suspected of collusion with foreign powers, based on a controversial national security law Hong Kong passed two years ago. Under that law, which severely punishes rebellion in the former British colony, he faces a life sentence.
In the summer of 2020, the editors of AppleDaily raided by the police. Several employees were arrested, including Lai himself. Hong Kong later seized the bank accounts of the medium, so that salaries could no longer be paid. In June 2021, the newspaper, one of Hong Kong’s last free media, ceased to exist.