More than 100 MPs and politicians from around the world have demanded the release of pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai from prison in Hong Kong ahead of the resumption of his trial on charges widely denounced as a sham.
MPs from countries including the UK, Australia, Canada, Ukraine and elsewhere have signed a letter calling for the “immediate and unconditional release” of Mr Lai, who is a British citizen.
The 76-year-old has been in jail since 2020, having faced charges over his involvement in pro-democracy protests in 2019, and fraud. He now faces a life sentence under China’s national security law on charges of sedition and collusion with foreign forces over articles in the Apple Daily newspaper he founded.
Mr Lai’s son, Sebastien, told The Independent in October that the family are seriously concerned about his health. “My father will die in jail... This is an issue about saving his life,” Sebastien said. Mr Lai was seen shivering in court and showed “significant loss of weight and increasing frailty” at his latest court hearings, according to his international legal team.
The release of the letter comes after Keir Starmer rasied Mr Lai’s case during a meeting with China’s president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil. In the first meeting between a UK prime minister and China’s leader since 2018, Sir Keir said: “We are concerned by reports of Jimmy Lai’s deterioration.”
Sir Keir also told Mr Xi: “I’m very pleased that my foreign secretary [David Lammy] and [China’s] foreign minister Wang met recently to discuss respective concerns including on human rights and parliamentary sanctions, Taiwan, the South China Sea and our shared interest in Hong Kong.”
The open letter demanding Mr Lai’s release, put together by Conservative MP Alicia Kearns, reads: “He is being tried on trumped-up charges arising from his peaceful promotion of democracy, his journalism and his human rights advocacy.
“The trial itself is tainted with unfairness. It is before hand-picked judges, evidence allegedly obtained by torture is being used against him, and it has been subject to lengthy delays.
“On the eve of recommencement of his trial, we urgently demand Jimmy Lai’s immediate and unconditional release.”
The signatories also include Jeremy Hunt MP, US congressman French Hill and Ukraine’s foreign policy committee chair Oleksandr Merezhko.
Ms Kearns added: “Jimmy Lai is being inhumanely persecuted for standing up for basic human values. He represents the flame of freedom millions seek around the world.
“We have a duty to fight for Jimmy Lai as a British citizen, and to take a stand against the Chinese Community Party’s erosion of rule of law in Hong Kong,” she said.
Mr Lai’s lawyers have alleged that he has been denied access to specialised medical care for his longstanding health concern of diabetes.
The legal team said a “lack of specialised medical care increases the risk of long-term complications linked to his diabetes due to the failure to properly manage his condition”.
Mr Lai has been charged with four offences under China’s national security law, one of which included lighting a candle in commemoration of the Tiananmen Square massacre of 1989.
The national security law was passed following the pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019, which saw millions demonstrate against a Bill which would have given the city-state’s judicial system power to extradite suspected criminals to face trial in mainland China.
