Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai has won an appeal against a 2022 fraud conviction that carried a nearly 6-year jail sentence. The Hong Kong Court of Appeal overturned the convictions of Lai and another defendant on Thursday.

• Lai, a 78-year-old British citizen and critic of Beijing, will remain in prison due to a previous 20-year sentence for colluding with foreign forces.
• Lai was detained in 2020 and founded the pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, which was shuttered in 2021.
• Critics argue Lai's trials and detention highlight the shrinking civil liberties in Hong Kong following the introduction of a national security law.