Publisher and activist Jimmy Lai has been held in Hong Kong on national security charges – including for a candlelight vigil marking the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre – since 2020. Last week, as Lai came to the end of more than 50 days of testimony, his son Sebastien called for an urgent meeting with Prime Minister Starmer, and for a renewed diplomatic push to secure his release. ‘I don’t want my father to die in jail,’ he told the press.
Despite facing potential life imprisonment, Lai has been denied consular support.
As part of our advocacy for his release, we sent an open letter to Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy, urging them to support the Jimmy Lai Bill, which had a second reading before Parliament on Friday.
The Bill seeks to enshrine a right that many assume already exists: guaranteed consular assess for British media workers and citizens arbitrarily detained or held hostage, or who face other human rights abuses, abroad. At a time when safeguards for fundamental rights are under attack around the world, the UK must speak up for freedoms: supporting this bill will send a clear message that the UK is committed to protecting its journalists and citizens abroad.
The Jimmy Lai Bill could also inspire similar actions by other democracies, creating a global movement to reinforce consular rights and media freedom.
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