FILE – Democracy advocate Jimmy Lai, center, leaves the Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong on Feb. 9, 2021. Lai was sentenced to five years and nine months in prison over two fraud charges linked to lease violations in Hong Kong on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2022 the latest of a series of cases against prominent activists that critics say are aimed at snuffing out dissidents in the city. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File) FILE – Democracy advocate Jimmy Lai, center, leaves the Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong on Feb. 9, 2021. Lai was sentenced…