New York, February 6, 2026—The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on Hong Kong authorities to cease targeting journalists and release all those behind bars, ahead of Monday’s expected sentencing of publisher Jimmy Lai and six former colleagues from his defunct Apple Daily newspaper, in the city’s largest media trial.
“Jimmy Lai’s trial has been nothing but a charade from the start and shows total contempt for Hong Kong laws that are supposed to protect press freedom,” said CPJ Asia-Pacific Director Beh Lih Yi. “Monday’s sentencing will go down in history as Hong Kong’s most shameful act of persecution of journalists and leave an indelible black mark on a city that was once the bastion of press freedom in Asia.”
The court has set aside one hour for the February 9 sentencing, which is due to begin at 10 a.m. local time.
Lai, the 78-year-old founder of the pro-democracy Apple Daily and a British citizen, has been in jail since 2020, amid concerns over his deteriorating health. He was convicted on December 15 on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious material, for which he could receive a life sentence.
Lai will be sentenced alongside eight co-defendants, including six former editors and senior executives from Apple Daily. All six have been awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to conspiracy to collude with foreign forces in 2022 in return for clemency on another charge. Some have testified against Lai.
CPJ has been advocating for the release of Lai, CPJ’s 2021 Gwen Ifill Press Freedom Award winner. Countries including the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and the European Union have called for his release.
China consistently ranks as the world’s worst jailer of journalists in CPJ’s annual prison census, with at least 51 currently behind bars, including eight in Hong Kong.