HONG KONG TYCOON JIMMY LAI GETS 14-MONTH JAIL TERM.
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 14 months in prison while nine other activists received jail time or suspended sentences on Friday for taking part in unauthorized assemblies during mass pro-democracy protests in 2019.
Senior barrister Martin Lee, who helped launch the city's largest opposition Democratic Party in the 1990s and is often called the “father of democracy,” was given an 11-month suspended sentence.
It was the first time that Lai, one of Hong Kong's most prominent democratic activists, jailed since December after being denied bail in a separate national security trial, received a prison sentence.
Lai was found guilty in two separate trials for unauthorized assemblies on Aug. 18 and Aug. 31, 2019.
He received a 15-month sentence for the first, reduced by three months in mitigation, and an eightmonth sentence for the second, of which he will serve two months.
District Court Judge Amanda Woodcock said even though the Aug. 18 assembly was peaceful there was a “latent risk of possible violence” and that a deterrent sentence and “immediate imprisonment” was appropriate.
Lai's repeated arrests have drawn criticism from Western governments and international rights groups, who raised concerns over waning freedoms.
“The wrongful prosecution, conviction and sentencing of these activists underlines the … government's intention to eliminate all political opposition,” Amnesty International's Asia-pacific Regional Director Yamini Mishra said.
The other defendants in the Aug. 18 case, also found guilty, included prominent barrister Margaret Ng and veteran democrats Lee Cheuk-yan, Albert Ho, Leung Kwok-hung, Cyd Ho, Au Nok-hin and Leung Yiuchung.
They received sentences of up to 18 months. Ng, Leung Yiu-chung and Albert Ho were given suspended sentences.
Ng said the law must not only be defended in courts or the legislature, but also in the streets.
Lai, founder of the Apple Daily tabloid, has been a frequent visitor to Washington, meeting officials such as former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, to rally support for Hong Kong democracy, prompting Beijing to label him a “traitor.”