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Hong Kong, February 26, 2024 – In a development that has sent ripples through both legal and political circles, Hong Kong media mogul and democracy advocate Jimmy Lai saw a fraud conviction overturned on Thursday. This appeal victory, however, offers little solace for the 78-year-old, who remains incarcerated under a much lengthier sentence.
Lai, a prominent British citizen and founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, along with codefendant Wong Wai-keung, had their convictions for illegally subletting office space in a government-owned media park quashed by the Hong Kong Court of Appeal. The original almost six-year sentences, handed down in 2022, were consequently set aside. The court determined that the alleged infraction did not meet the criminal threshold for fraud.
Despite this legal win, Lai’s freedom remains elusive. He is currently serving a staggering 20-year sentence, imposed just three weeks ago, for charges of collusion with foreign forces and conspiracy to print and distribute seditious material under Beijing’s stringent national security law.
The Hong Kong government was quick to highlight the appeal’s outcome, presenting it as evidence of the territory’s independent and transparent judicial system. A government spokesperson stated, “The District Court conducted the trial impartially.
While the defendants lodged an appeal in accordance with the law, the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal with a detailed explanation on the reasons. Under the fair and impartial legal system of Hong Kong, both the trial court and the Court of Appeal handled the case openly and transparently.”
However, the government also indicated it might challenge the appeal ruling, asserting that the original issue of Lai “exploiting public resources for private use” remained.
Lai’s daughter, Claire Lai, dismissed the ruling as a mere “publicity stunt,” reiterating her plea for international intervention to secure her ailing father’s release. “No one should be fooled into thinking it is anything more. The rule of law is broken there, and my father is still unjustly imprisoned and will remain so for nearly 20 years unless urgent action is taken to secure his release,” she told the BBC.
Similarly, Doughty Street Chambers, the London-based international law firm representing Lai, echoed this sentiment. Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, leading Lai’s defense team, emphasized, “No one should be fooled into thinking that this fraud appeal belatedly succeeding suggests the Hong Kong system operates fairly or justly.”
Lai’s legal troubles began in August 2020, just two months after the national security law was implemented, when he was first arrested and his Apple Daily offices raided. He has been in custody since December 2020.
His 20-year sentence, handed down on February 9, effectively adds 18 years to the remaining two years of his previous fraud sentence. The impact of the overturned fraud conviction on his overall incarceration period remains unclear.
Apple Daily, founded by Lai three decades ago, was a prominent voice for democratic rights and a critic of increasingly authoritarian rule in Hong Kong following its handover to China. The newspaper ceased operations in 2021 amid the escalating crackdown on dissent.