UK – Sky News, March 03, 2025
Mr Lai continues to testify in a trial where he is accused of breaking Hong Kong’s national security laws.
Pro-democracy campaigner and British citizen Jimmy Lai might die in a Hong Kong prison, his son has told Sky News as he urges Sir Keir Starmer to push for his immediate release.
Sebastien Lai told Wilfred Frost on Sky News Breakfast his 77-year-old father’s health is deteriorating quickly as he continues to testify in a trial where he is accused of breaking Hong Kong’s national security laws, imposed by Beijing in 2020.
He has been in solitary confinement in jail in Hong Kong since 2021 as he awaited the trial for “conspiracy to collude with foreign forces”, which was delayed by three years before starting in December 2023.
The current UK government said it has urged China to release him during visits to Beijing to seek closer relations, but Sebastien Lai said the situation is now urgent.
“He’s still strong mentally and spiritually,” Sebastien Lai said.
“But he’s in the body of a 77-year-old, and it’s just one of those situations where we can’t wait.”
