Media mogul Jimmy Lai has been sentenced to one year in prison for his role in the Hong Kong protests | right Now

Media mogul Jimmy Lai, on Friday, was sentenced to a year in prison in Hong Kong for his role in demonstrations against Chinese influence.

A Lai court convicted, along with 12 other activists, of organizing “illegal marches” in August 2019. This case included his role in organizing a mass demonstration on August 18, in which at least 300,000 people took part.

Martin Lee Chu-ming, leader of the Hong Kong Democratic Party, was sentenced to 11 months in prison Friday for his involvement in the same illegal gathering.

Lai was arrested in August 2020. This happened a month after the Chinese security law was implemented in Hong Kong. He was released on bail two days later, but he was detained pending an investigation pending a judge’s ruling.

The 72-year-old Lai is the founder Apple DailyIt is a Chinese-language pro-democracy newspaper in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The billionaire is known to be a vocal critic of Beijing.

Large-scale demonstrations against the Chinese security law

In Hong Kong, there were widespread demonstrations in 2019 and 2020 against the Security Act that was passed on July 1, 2020. The law allows China to take tougher measures against opposition and activists. The law facilitates the handover of persons.

Hundreds of opponents of the Chinese regime have been arrested and sentenced since the introduction of the Security Act.