Former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai will not appeal a national security conviction, his legal team said

Hong Kong — Jimmy Lai, a former pro-democracy Hong Kong publisher, will not appeal the national security conviction he was sentenced last month to 20 years in prison, his legal team said on Friday.

Lai, a staunch critic of China’s ruling Communist Party who founded the now-defunct Apple Daily, was convicted in December of conspiring to collude with foreign powers and conspiring with others to publish seditious articles.

His Hong Kong legal team told The Associated Press via text message of the decision, which ends a years-long legal battle. The lawyer would not comment on the reason for not appealing.

“We can confirm that we have clear and definitive instructions not to appeal against conviction or sentence,” he said.

Observers say his conviction reflects the erosion of press and other freedoms that has swept Hong Kong, a former British colony that returned to Chinese control in 1997. The government insists the case has nothing to do with a free press, saying the accused have used news reporting as a pretext for years to commit acts that harm China and Hong Kong.

Lai was one of the first prominent figures to be arrested under the security law in 2020. Within a year, some of Apple Daily’s senior journalists were also arrested, and the paper, known for its critical coverage of the Beijing and Hong Kong governments, closed in June 2021.

Lai is 78 years old, and his lengthy sentence has raised concerns that he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

After the sentencing, Lai’s children said a possible visit by US President Donald Trump to Beijing could be decisive for the release of their father, a British citizen.

The White House has confirmed that Trump will travel to China from March 31 to April 2 to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, although there has been no official confirmation from Beijing so far.

UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said Lai had been convicted for exercising her right to freedom of expression and called on Hong Kong authorities to release her on humanitarian grounds.

Chinese and Hong Kong officials have defended Loi’s sentence, saying it reflects the spirit of the rule of law.

Last week, Lai won an appeal to overturn his convictions and sentence in a separate fraud case, a rare victory in his legal battles.

That ruling could reduce his total prison time. But the government had earlier said that the justice department would study the verdict thoroughly and consider whether to file an appeal or not.