Hong Kong Court Overturns Jimmy Lai’s False Conviction in Rare Legal Win

On Thursday, a Hong Kong appellate court overturned scam convictions against Jimmy Lai. He is a popular media tycoon and famed pro-democracy activist. He marked an unusual legal victory in his lifelong court battles.

Lai is a 78 years old vocal critic of China’s ruling Communist Party. He is also a founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily, will stay in prison. Just weeks ago, he was sentenced to 20 years after being convicted in a breakup case. It is accounted for under a Beijing-imposed national security law. In April 2020, Hong Kong media tycoon and pro-democracy figure Jimmy Lai was arrested by the local police directly from his home. Now, after five years of his arrest under the law, this was used in a years-long attack on many of Hong Kong Court of Appeal's leading activists.

Lai’s troubles have evoked grief over the loss of press liberty in the city and prompted a global outcry, though the city’s authorities maintain his case had nothing to do with media freedom.

On Thursday, the conviction overturned was related to an earlier fraud case. Prosecutors had alleged that a consultancy company linked to Lai unsuitably used office space rented by his media company for printing and publishing ideas.

Jimmy Lai was sentenced in 2022 to five years on a judicial decision. It is about to stay about nine months in prison. The punishment came after he was found accountable for two fraud-related charges.

Neither defendant even present in court. The ruling could somewhat reduce Lai’s total prison time. The judges managing Lai’s national security case permitted the two sentences to be served concurrently for only two years. The 18 years to be added after the fraud sentence. The lengthy sentence has raised concerns that he could spend the whole life in prison.