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Updated April 16th, 2021 at 20:00 IST

Hong Kong tycoon Jimmy Lai jailed for 14 months, slapped with two additional charges

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who is charged under a new national security law, has now been sentenced to up to 18 months in prison.

Reported by: Akanksha Arora
Jimmy Lai
AP | Image:self
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Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai, who is charged under a new national security law, has now been sentenced for 14 months in prison for organizing and participating in a massive march during 2019 anti-government protests. He has been sentenced with four more leading pro-democracy advocates. Lai, who is the founder of Hong Kong’s Apple Daily tabloid has been charged for  demonstration on August 18, 2019, and a separate unauthorized march on August 31, 2019. 

Additional charges on Lai 

Lai has also been slapped with two additional charges. One under the national security law which accused him of conspiring with foreign powers and the second charge accused him of helping local activists to escape the city. According to the reports by AP, a total of 9 advocates were given jail terms. However, four of them, including 82-year-old lawyer and former lawmaker Martin Lee, had their sentences suspended after their age was taken into consideration. They were found guilty of organizing and participating in a massive protest in August 2019. Approximately 1.7 million people marched in these protests. 

Lai, a prominent face in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement, has been arrested and released several times. Initially, detained in December last year, Lai was freed on bail. However, soon after that, the government critic was again sentenced to prison by the city state’s top court.

China has garnered a lot of flak from the international community since it passed the controversial National Security Law on June 30, 2020. So far, several social activists, mostly pro-democracy advocates, accused of endangering China's national security have been charged under the law. The United States and several other western nations, including Britain, the former coloniser of Hong Kong, have strongly condemned the implementation of the law, which sparked widespread protests in the city.

(Image Credits: AP)

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Published April 16th, 2021 at 20:00 IST

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