UK foreign secretary says pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai’s Hong Kong jail term is ‘tantamount to life sentence’

UK foreign secretary says pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai’s Hong Kong jail term is ‘tantamount to life sentence’

The UK foreign secretary has said a 20-year jail term handed down by a Hong Kong court to pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai is “tantamount to a life sentence”.

The 78-year-old media tycoon and British citizen was found guilty ​of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one ​count of publishing seditious materials in December last year.

ed with that assessment and, in a statement, called the sentence a “politically motivated prosecution” aimed at Mr Lai “for exercising his right to freedom of expression”.

“For the 78-year-old, this is tantamount to a life sentence. I remain deeply concerned for Mr Lai’s health, and I again call on the Hong Kong authorities to end his appalling ordeal and release him on humanitarian grounds, so that he may be reunited with his family,” she added.

Lai’s son, Sebastien, told Sky News the case was a “show trial” and the result was not a surprise.

“I think many people expected it. This is essentially a life sentence… a death sentence,” he said.