by BLOOMBERG

Hong Kong’s highest court sent media tycoon Jimmy Lai back to jail until he faces trial on national security charges, overturning a lower court’s decision that Chinese state media had criticized as “unbelievable.”

The Court of Final Appeal ruled Lai must be returned to custody after a hearing Thursday in Hong Kong. A lower court had released the Next Digital Ltd. founder from jail last week on HK$10 million ($1.3 million) bail and placed him under house arrest pending a trial next year.

While the decision avoids a showdown with Beijing, it could fuel concern about the risk of pre-trial imprisonment for people charged under the sweeping national security enacted by Beijing in June. The People’s Daily newspaper — the official mouthpiece of the ruling Communist Party — blasted the decision in a commentary Saturday, warning that the case could be transferred to mainland courts under the security law.