Jimmy Lai: conviction of Hong Kong pro-democracy figure decried as attack on press freedom

Rights groups dismiss sham conviction' of media tycoon on national security offences in city's most closely watched rulings in decades

• The rise and fall of Jimmy Lai, whose trajectory mirrored that of Hong Kong itself

Jimmy Lai, the Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon, is facing life in prison after being found guilty of national security and sedition offences, in one of the most closely watched rulings since the city's return to Chinese rule in 1997.

Soon after the ruling was delivered, rights and press groups decried the verdict as a sham conviction" and an attack on press freedom.