Jimmy Lai sentenced to 20 years in landmark National Security Case

Next Digital founder Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years behind bars after being convicted of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces.

Eight other convicted senior executives of the now-shuttered Apple Daily and activists received prison terms of up to ten years.

We begin our coverage tonight with the court's sentencing judgment.

A landmark case, marking the first trial under Hong Kong's National Security Law involving collusion with foreign forces which took more than two years to proceed in courts.

Former media mogul Jimmy Lai's 20-year prison sentence handed down at the West Kowloon Court -- also marks the longest prison term since the law came into effect.

Lai was convicted on two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and one count of conspiracy to publish seditious material.

The court considered ten factors when determining the sentencing, including the context such as society's atmosphere, the modus operandi -- meaning the ways, acts, wording, media or platform adopted, the frequency and duration of the offence, whether it was premeditated and whether violence was involved, as well as the targets and impacts.

Determining that the offences were of a "grave nature" the judges said the penalty should not be below ten years.

The court said the conspiracies were not only well planned but were premeditated and involved the use of online platforms, reaching both local and overseas audience.

It said the call for "sanctions or blockade, and engaging in hostile activities" -- both overt and subtle, did contribute to foreign governments, imposing those against the Hong Kong government and the PRC.

The court adopted a starting point of 15 years' imprisonment and noting that Lai is considered the mastermind and driving force the provisional sentence is raised to 18 years.

For the conspiracy to publish seditious material, the court considered multiple articles involved -- both in print and online -- the number of participants and duration of offences, resulting in a 23-month sentence.

Having considered the mitigation, the court accepted that the combination of Lai's old age, health condition and solitary confinement would cause his prison life to be more burdensome than that of other inmates.

The court deducted the sentence by one year and one month.

Apart from announcing penalties for Lai, the remaining eight defendants, including six former senior executives of the now-shuttered Apple Daily and two activists were also given sentencing -- ranging from six years and three months to ten years.

Meanwhile, three connected Apple Daily companies were each fined 3 million 4,500 dollars.

The court revealed that the three companies have declared bankruptcy.

However, after considering the totality of evidence, the court found that none of the accomplice witnesses fell within the category of a super informant -- or a "supergrass," referring to the insider criminal witness who turns against their associates and gives extensive or high-value evidence to police, who may receive reduced prison time.