London / Washington, D.C. — February 9, 2026
We, the World Liberty Congress, condemn in the strongest terms the sentencing of Jimmy Lai, who has today been sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment under Hong Kong’s National Security Law. This sentence marks a decisive rupture with the rule of law and confirms the transformation of Hong Kong’s courts into instruments of political repression.
Jimmy Lai, now 78 years old, has been punished not for violence or criminal conduct, but for journalism and peaceful expression—for publishing newspapers that questioned those in power and for engaging in international dialogue. His conviction on charges of “collusion with foreign forces” represents a deliberate distortion of national security law to criminalise the basic functions of a free press.
Today’s ruling did not target Mr. Lai alone. Former Apple Daily executives, editors, and journalists were also handed severe prison terms: former chief executive Cheung Kim-hung was sentenced to 6 years and 9 months; former deputy publisher Chan Pui-man to 7 years; former editor-in-chief Lo Wai-kwong and former executive editors Lam Man-chung and Fung Wai-kong each to 10 years; columnist Yeung Ching-kee to 7 years and 3 months; legal assistant Chan Tsz-wah to 6 years and 3 months; and activist Andy Li Yu-hin to 7 years and 3 months.
Together, these sentences amount to the mass criminalisation of a newsroom.
This was not a normal judicial process. The defendants were tried without a jury, under special national security procedures, and within a system that no longer meets international standards of judicial independence or proportionality. The outcome makes clear that journalism itself has been redefined as a security threat.
The Expansion of the Threat
The sentencing of Jimmy Lai and his colleagues confirms that the National Security Law is being used to eradicate dissent at the highest levels. Alarmingly, repression is now extending beyond public figures to their families. In this context, we express deep concern over the imminent sentencing of Kwok Yin-sang, the father of Anna Kwok, in a case arising from allegations related to the handling of an insurance policy linked to his daughter, who is living in exile (scheduled for this Wednesday, Feb 11). Legal observers and human rights organisations have widely viewed this case as part of a broader strategy of pressuring activists through their relatives.
Taken together, these developments demonstrate a dangerous escalation—from silencing publishers and journalists, to imposing coercive punishment on families. This is collective intimidation by legal means.
Call to Action
We demand the immediate release of Jimmy Lai and all those imprisoned for journalism and peaceful expression, and the dismissal of charges against Kwok Yin-sang. We call on democratic governments—particularly the United Kingdom, given Mr. Lai’s British citizenship—to reject these proceedings as illegitimate.
Silence is no longer defensible. The international community must impose immediate, targeted accountability measures, including travel bans and asset freezes, on the prosecutors and National Security Law judges responsible for these convictions. Legal office must not serve as a shield for the systematic destruction of fundamental freedoms.
History will judge not only these sentences, but the response of those who witnessed them. We stand in solidarity with Hong Kong’s journalists, with Anna Kwok’s family, and with all those whose rights are being extinguished through the misuse of law.
