Jimmy Lai

 Publisher Jimmy Lai, a voice for freedom in Hong Kong, has been sentenced to a long prison sentence by China.

Lai founded Apple Daily in 1995, a news publication which became particularly critical of Hong Kong’s government in the wake of a controversial 2019 bill to extradite locals to the mainland for trial in political cases. 

The bill caused widespread protests and demonstrations, and Lai was arrested in 2020.,,,

he wasn't the only one jailed:

Six former Apple Daily staffers, and two human rights activists were also sentenced on Monday. Lai’s codefendants received jail sentences between six and 10 years. The convicted journalists are publisher Cheung Kim-hung, associate publisher Chan Pui-man, editor-in-chief Ryan Law, executive editor-in-chief Lam Man-chung, executive editor-in-chief responsible for English news Fung Wai-kong and editorial writer Yeung Ching-kee. 

... After Lai’s sentence was announced on Monday, the UK foreign secretary Yvette Cooper said Lai was a victim of a “politically motivated prosecution,” while prime minister Keir Starmer has said he had raised Jimmy Lai’s case during his visit to China last month.

Jimmy Lai is a UK citizen,  

 Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI), chairman for the House Select Committee on China, said in a statement that if President Xi Jinping “wants to improve his relationship with the United States, freeing Jimmy Lai is where he needs to start.”

 

Meanwhile, the European Union’s foreign affairs spokesperson Anitta Hipper said that the EU “deplores” Lai’s sentencing and called for his “immediate and unconditional release.”