A Hong Kong appeals court has overturned fraud convictions against Jimmy Lai, handing the former media mogul a rare legal victory even as he faces 20 years in prison on a separate national security charge that could keep him incarcerated for life.
Lai, 78, an outspoken critic of China’s communist regime and founder of the now-defunct newspaper Apple Daily, has been widely seen as a symbol of Hong Kong’s diminishing press freedom and civil liberties. He has now spent more than 1,800 days in prison since his 2020 arrest.
On Feb. 26, Hong Kong Judges Jeremy Poon, Anthea Pang, and Derek Pang stated in the judgment that they allowed the appeal from Lai and Wong to proceed, as the lower court judge had “erred.”
“In conclusion, we hold that Apple Daily Printing did not owe a duty to the Corporation to disclose its breach of the user restrictions or the non-alienation clauses occasioned by Dico’s occupation and use of the said Premises,“ the judgment reads. ”With respect, the Judge erred.
“His reasoning in concluding that the applicants were liable for the concealment as the prosecution contended is unsupportable. He erred in making those findings.”
The judges said the prosecution had “failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt” that Lai had “made false representation,” according to the judgment.
“The Court of Appeal gave them leave to appeal against their conviction, allowed their appeals, quashed the convictions and set aside the sentences,” the judges wrote in a news summary of their judgment.
Even with his fraud conviction and sentence overturned, Lai could still stay behind bars until 2042 if he serves the full 20-year sentence handed down earlier this month, according to Washington-based advocacy group Hong Kong Democracy Council.
In a statement responding to the latest court ruling, a spokesperson for the Hong Kong government said the city’s Department of Justice will study the judgment “thoroughly” before deciding whether to appeal.
“Although the Court of Appeal considered that, in the factual context of this case, the breach in question did not reach the criminal conviction threshold for the offence of ‘fraud’, the objective fact remains that [Jimmy] Lai Chee-ying has exploited public resources for private use,” the spokesperson wrote.
Sebastien Lai, Jimmy Lai’s son, said the ruling did not change anything for his father.
“He still has a sentence of 20 years in prison and has spent the last half a decade in solitary confinement in maximum security,” the younger Lai told Reuters. “The right thing is to release him immediately before it is too late.”
Jimmy Lai’s daughter, Claire Lai, and Sebastien Lai have warned that their father could die in prison, citing a sharp decline in his health after more than five years in solitary confinement. According to the family, Jimmy Lai is suffering from retinal vein occlusion in his right eye, high blood pressure, heart palpitations, and progressive hearing loss.
Claire Lai and Sebastien Lai have expressed hopes that U.S. President Donald Trump could secure the release of their father during his upcoming trip to China.
The trip will last three days beginning on March 31, the White House has confirmed, during which Trump is scheduled to meet Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Intelligence, said in an X post on Feb. 25 that Trump needs to bring up Jimmy Lai during his meeting with Xi.
“Weeks after the sentencing of Hong Kong publisher and democracy advocate Jimmy Lai, Beijing wants the world to move on,” Warner wrote. “We shouldn’t. The President should raise his case when he next meets President Xi.”
