Hong Kong tycoon jailed over Tiananmen vigil

Jimmy Lai founded the now-closed pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily (Vincent Yu/AP)

Activist and business tycoon Jimmy Lai has been sentenced  to 13 months in prison for urging participation in last year’s banned Tiananmen vigil, amid a crackdown by Chinese authorities that has restricted the semi-autonomous city’s civil liberties.

The District Court in Hong Kong on Monday convicted seven others on similar charges and handed out sentences of up to 14 months.