Former prisoners and hostages wrongly held abroad have urged the UK prime minister to urgently secure the release of the pro-democracy campaigner Jimmy Lai before he dies in a Hong Kong jail. The 77-year-old media mogul, who is a British citizen, has been held in solitary confinement for 1,602 days and his family fears he might not survive another summer in Hong Kong, where temperatures can reach 40C (104F). A letter to Keir Starmer signed by 22 people who were detained abroad and their family members, says he must act…
Tag: Jimmy Lai
‘The old days are no more’: Hong Kong goes quiet as security laws tighten their grip
“Ideas are bulletproof”. Three words, stamped out in multicolour tiles above a doorway, represented one of the last vestiges of Hong Kong’s once vibrant literary spaces. On 31 March, Mount Zero, a beloved independent bookstore in Hong Kong, closed its doors for the final time. Hundreds of Hongkongers came to say goodbye. The bookshop, which opened in 2018, took its slogan from the 2005 film V for Vendetta; the eponymous antihero’s Guy Fawkes mask occasionally appeared during Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests. Mount Zero’s closure, which was announced after what the…
The Guardian view on Hong Kong’s new national security law: double the pain | Editorial
Residents of Hong Kong could be forgiven for a sense of deja vu. A draconian new national security law (NSL), broad in scope and harsh in penalties, is trampling over basic rights. It first happened four years ago, in response to the extraordinary uprising that saw one in four people take to the streets to defend the region’s autonomy and way of life. Beijing imposed the 2020 law upon the territory, demolishing any vestiges of its claim to run Hong Kong on a “one country, two systems” basis. That legislation,…
Jimmy Lai trial in Hong Kong hears evidence from ‘tortured’ witness
A key prosecution witness in the trial of Jimmy Lai took the stand in a Hong Kong court on Wednesday, giving evidence that the UN’s special rapporteur has said could be tainted because of allegations of torture. Andy Li, a computer programmer turned pro-democracy activist, gave evidence about his role in a crowdfunding campaign, Stand With Hong Kong, to rally support for the pro-democracy protests in 2019. The campaign, which ultimately raised more than $1.8m (£1.4m), placed advertisements in several newspapers including the Guardian, the Washington Post and the Australian.…
Jimmy Lai and the rule of law in Hong Kong | Letter
Your editorial (The Guardian view on Jimmy Lai: this sham trial is another bleak day for Hong Kong, 18 December) claims that the trial of Jimmy Lai’s case is a political one, suggesting that the British government should have acted earlier to urge China to release Jimmy Lai. It smears the National Security Law for Hong Kong, alleging that political interference has caused foreign companies to leave Hong Kong, and talks down the region’s development. These allegations misrepresent the facts and mislead the public. The Hong Kong special administrative region…
Jimmy Lai lawyers file UN appeal saying there is evidence witness was tortured
The international legal team for the imprisoned media mogul Jimmy Lai, who is on trial for national security offences in Hong Kong, has filed an urgent appeal with the United Nations special rapporteur on torture regarding one of the key prosecution witnesses in Lai’s trial. Lai’s lawyers say there is “credible evidence” that Andy Li, a 33-year-old former pro-democracy activist, was tortured while in prison in mainland China before he confessed to allegedly conspiring with Lai to collude with foreign forces. That is one of the two national security law…
Jimmy Lai pleads not guilty to all charges at Hong Kong national security trial
Jimmy Lai pleaded not guilty to all charges at the resumption of his national security trial in Hong Kong on Tuesday. The media tycoon and pro-democracy activist is facing up to life in prison if found guilty on the charges against him, brought under the 2021 national security law and a colonial-era sedition law. Wearing a white shirt and a navy blue jacket, and surrounded by three prison guards in the defendant’s dock, the 76-year-old replied “not guilty” in English to each of the charges read out on Tuesday. He…
‘I’m very proud of him’: Sebastien Lai on Hong Kong, accountability and his father Jimmy’s trial
Sebastien Lai is sitting in a downtown coffee shop, on a blustery day in Taipei. The 28-year-old was only recently married, but is spending much of his time flying around the world advocating for his father’s freedom. Days earlier, his father, Jimmy Lai, the prominent media mogul and democracy activist, went on trial in Hong Kong. Lai senior is accused of conspiring to collude with foreign forces under the 2020 national security law, and conspiring to publish seditious material, under a colonial-era sedition law. He faces up to life in…
The Guardian view on Jimmy Lai: this sham trial is another bleak day for Hong Kong | Editorial
Hong Kong police are reportedly deploying 1,000 officers around the clock to guard the courtroom where the trial of Jimmy Lai began on Monday, three years after his arrest. Like the decision to hold the British citizen in solitary confinement in a maximum-security prison, this is theatre. Mr Lai, a media mogul and pro-democracy activist, is 76. His allies in the 2019 movement to uphold Hong Kong’s freedoms are themselves in jail or have fled abroad. Political opposition has been ruthlessly suppressed following the protests. Mr Lai is charged with conspiring to…
Jimmy Lai trial: heavy security presence as landmark national security case begins in Hong Kong
The media mogul and pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai has gone on trial at a heavily guarded Hong Kong court on national security charges that could lead to life imprisonment. Lai’s trial, expected to last months, is one of the most high-profile prosecutions in the Hong Kong government’s crackdown on opposition, and has been widely condemned by rights groups and other governments. The 76-year-old pro-democracy activist and founder of the now-closed Apple Daily newspaper has been accused of conspiring to collude with foreign forces to endanger national security under sweeping legislation…