UK – Article 19, February 03, 2025
Over 1,400 days in solitary confinement. No consular access. This is the reality for British citizen Jimmy Lai, publisher and pro-democracy advocate, detained in Hong Kong since 2020 under its draconian National Security Law (NSL).
The ‘Jimmy Lai Bill’, introduced before the British Parliament last month, seeks to enshrine a right that many assume already exists: guaranteed consular assess for arbitrarily detained British media workers. It is an important law that could change the UK’s approach to protecting its citizens abroad.
ARTICLE 19 strongly supports this legislation.
On 10 August 2020, Jimmy Lai and colleagues from Apple Daily, the pro-democracy newspaper, were arrested in a massive police raid. Though briefly released on bail, Lai was re-imprisoned on New Year’s Eve 2020. The 77-year-old remains in custody, facing multiple spurious charges, including for a candlelight vigil marking the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. Despite facing potential life imprisonment under the NSL, Lai has been denied consular support.
Chinese authorities are ultimately responsible for refusing Lai contact with British officials. However, there is more the United Kingdom can do to increase the chances for those detained abroad to receive vital support and assistance.
Presently, the UK offers no legal right to consular assistance for its citizens detained abroad, despite the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) Consular Charter outlining various services. On 22 January, Blair McDougall MP introduced a bill in Parliament to change that.
The ‘Jimmy Lai Bill’ would guarantee a degree of added protection for British media workers arbitrarily detained abroad by enshrining a right to consular access in UK law.
