By Micah Jonah, February 26, 2026
A Hong Kong appeals court has overturned the fraud conviction and prison sentence of pro democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, in a rare legal victory for the outspoken China critic.
Judges Jeremy Poon, Anthea Pang and Derek Pang ruled that a lower court had erred in convicting Lai and another defendant, allowing their appeals and setting aside both the convictions and sentences.
Lai had been sentenced in December 2022 to five years and nine months in prison after being found guilty of breaching lease terms at the headquarters of his now shuttered newspaper, Apple Daily. Prosecutors alleged that a private company linked to Lai operated from the premises in violation of its lease with the Hong Kong Industrial Estates Corporation.
In their written judgement, the Court of Appeal found that the lower court’s reasoning was unsupportable and concluded that the company did not owe a duty to disclose the alleged breach in the way prosecutors had argued.
Despite the ruling, Lai will remain in prison. He was recently sentenced to 20 years under Hong Kong’s national security law on charges including conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and publishing seditious materials. That case has drawn international criticism from governments including the United States and the United Kingdom, as well as rights groups who have called for his release.
Lai, 78, has described himself in court as a political prisoner. His son Sebastien Lai said the appeal decision does not change his father’s overall situation, noting that he has spent more than five years in solitary confinement under maximum security conditions.
The Hong Kong government said the Department of Justice will review the judgement to determine whether to seek a further appeal.
Lai’s legal battles have become emblematic of the broader crackdown on dissent in Hong Kong following the imposition of a sweeping national security law by Beijing after the 2019 pro democracy protests.
