Excessive Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk deplored the sentence imposed on Mr. Lai, the 78-year-old founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Day by day, following his conviction on fees introduced underneath security-related legal guidelines within the Hong Kong Particular Administrative Area of China.
On 15 December 2025, the Excessive Courtroom discovered Mr. Lai responsible of conspiracy to publish seditious materials underneath the Crimes Ordinance, in addition to two counts of conspiracy to collude with overseas forces underneath the Nationwide Safety Legislation (NSL).
Mr. Lai has denied all fees. The courtroom’s choices are topic to attraction.
Criminalising elementary freedoms
Mr. Türk’s workplace, OHCHR, stated it had reviewed the decision and was involved that it criminalised the train of elementary freedoms, together with freedom of expression, media freedom and affiliation.
It famous that the ruling relied extensively on conduct that occurred earlier than the NSL got here into power, reiterating issues it had beforehand raised concerning the broad scope of the offence of “collusion with exterior forces” underneath the NSL.
“Jimmy Lai is a publisher sentenced to twenty years in jail for exercising rights protected underneath worldwide regulation,” Mr. Türk stated.
“This final result highlights how the obscure and overly broad provisions of Hong Kong’s nationwide safety laws can result in being interpreted and enforced in violation of Hong Kong’s worldwide human rights obligations. This verdict must be promptly quashed as incompatible with worldwide regulation.”
Release on humanitarian grounds
Excessive Commissioner Türk additionally appealed for Mr. Lai’s speedy release on humanitarian grounds, citing his age, well being and the affect of the greater than 4 years he has already spent in detention.
OHCHR expressed additional concern that the judgment handled engagement by others with the United Nations and UN human rights mechanisms as related context in reaching its conclusion of guilt.
Worsening press freedom
Because the introduction of the NSL in 2020 and the Safeguarding Nationwide Safety Ordinance in 2024, press freedom in Hong Kong has sharply deteriorated, with quite a few unbiased media shops closed down by the State, dozens of journalists arrested, and overseas reporters dealing with tighter visa insurance policies and accreditation necessities.
“That is half of a broader repressive development in Hong Kong, the place a whole lot have been arrested and prosecuted underneath these legal guidelines,” Mr. Türk stated.
Alongside Mr. Lai, six former Apple Day by day workers members, an activist and a paralegal had been additionally sentenced on Monday to jail phrases starting from six to 10 years.
From 2020 to 2026, a minimum of 385 people have been arrested and 175 convicted underneath nationwide security-related offences, in response to media reviews citing official sources.
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