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Jimmy Lai, Hong Kong pro-democracy figure, sentenced to 20 years in prison for national security offences

The Guardian - Media · Amy Hawkins and Geneva Abdul · last updated

Family of media tycoon say he will ‘die a martyr behind bars’, amid widespread criticism from press freedom groups

Jimmy Lai, the media mogul and prominent pro-democracy activist, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison in Hong Kong for national security offences, a punishment his daughter said could mean “he will die a martyr behind bars”.

Claire Lai said the sentence was “heartbreakingly cruel” given her 78-year-old father’s declining health, while her brother Sebastien Lai called the sentence “draconian” and “devastating”.

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