Dear Mr Al-Khawaja,
I hope this letter finds you well despite your health conditions, which I have learned about with deep concern. I also take note of your decision to start on open-ended hunger strike.

As confirmed by a White House official late on Thursday evening, President Trump used his bilateral meeting with President Xi of China to press for Jimmy Lai’s release. President Trump has consistently expressed his support for Lai in recent years, both whilst campaigning and whilst in office.

Israel received the remains of two deceased hostages held in Gaza on Thursday afternoon. The remains were transferred to Israel via the Red Cross and taken to the country’s national forensics laboratory for identification.

A British couple currently detained in Iran have been accused of liaising with intelligence agencies in the UK, Europe and Israel, a parliamentary hearing has heard.

An American teenager held in an Israeli prison without trial for more than eight months will remain in detention for at least another week and a half, despite growing pressure from US lawmakers for his release.

Bahraini activist Abdulhadi al-Khawaja has begun an open-ended hunger strike to protest his detention, 13 years after Bahrain’s Arab Spring uprising.

When President Donald Trump sits down with Chinese leader Xi Jinping this week, trade will be the subject at hand.

Yesterday, the Italian government backed calls for the release of political prisoner Jimmy Lai after five years of unjust imprisonment in Hong Kong.

Brigitte Klinkert, Member of Parliament (EPR) for the 1st constituency of Haut-Rhin, Colmar – Neuf-Brisach, asked the government a question this Tuesday in the National Assembly chamber, on the diplomatic means deployed by France to obtain the “immediate and unconditional” release of Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris, hostages in Iran since May 2022.

The Piedmont Regional Council is taking action for Alberto Trentini, the humanitarian worker detained for seven months in Venezuela.