(NEW YORK) — The sentencing of pro-democracy activist and media mogul Jimmy Lai to 20 years in prison is a catastrophic blow to free speech in Hong Kong, PEN America said today.
“Jimmy Lai is 78 and this egregious abuse of justice is essentially a death sentence for one of the most prominent pro-democracy campaigners in Hong Kong,” said Liesl Gerntholtz, managing director of the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Center at PEN America. “This blatant injustice is a clear indication that the Chinese government will stop at nothing to silence dissenting voices. PEN America is also deeply concerned about what this means for other writers in the region who put their freedom on the line every time they put pen to paper, or pixels on a screen.”
Lai, who founded media group Next Digital in Hong Kong and the now defunct Apple Daily news outlet, was convicted in December 2025 after a years-long saga during which he was accused of sedition and conspiracy to collude with foreign forces. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The 20-year prison term is the harshest sentence imposed to date under Hong Kong’s National Security Law, which took effect in 2020, the same year Lai was arrested. Eight other defendants in the case received sentences ranging from six to10 years. Among those given some of the longest terms after Lai were former Apple Daily editor-in-chief Luo Wai-kwong, former executive editor Lam Man-chung and former executive editor of the paper’s English edition Fung Wai-kwong. The Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK) Foundation has also reported systematic abuses in Hong Kong prisons, including extended isolation.
The Chinese government is the world’s leading jailer of writers according to PEN America’s Freedom to Write Index, published every year. More than 100 writers are currently behind bars – with the majority jailed for online writing criticizing government policies or advancing pro-democracy ideals.
Online commentator and activist Chow Hang-tung was sentenced to 22 months imprisonment for charges related to a single Facebook post and an article calling for Hong Kong residents to remember the Tiananmen Massacre. While she was acquitted in December 2022, that acquittal was later overturned. She is now being held in pretrial detention for additional charges of “inciting subversion” under the National Security Law, for which she faces a potential 10-year sentence. Her trial began last month.
“Hong Kong is following Beijing’s playbook of stifling free expression, silencing independent media, and attempting to terrify writers into silence with the threat of lengthy prison sentences,” said Gerntholtz. “It is essential that governments, including the U.S. government when it meets with President Xi in April, continue to uphold human rights and call for the release of all those jailed for their writing and their speech.”
About PEN America
PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform the world. Our mission is to unite writers and their allies to celebrate creative expression and defend the liberties that make it possible. Learn more at pen.org.