A Hong Kong court has sentenced former pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai to a total of 20 years in prison on two counts of colluding with a foreign state and one count of spreading subversive information, AFP and Reuters reported.
The sentence was imposed despite pressure from the US, Britain and human rights activists for his release.
The businessman and founder of the pro-democracy newspaper "Apple Daily", which is currently closed, could have received life in prison. On December 15, he was found guilty of three charges after a trial that human rights advocates said marked the end of the media freedom that Hong Kong had long prided itself on.
The UK returned the territory to China in 1997. Lai was detained in August 2020, and the legal saga that ended today lasted more than 5 years.