12 Sep 24

Jimmy Lai’s international legal team files Urgent Appeal with the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture

The international legal team for Jimmy Lai and Sebastien Lai has today submitted an urgent appeal to the United Nations (“UN”) Special Rapporteur on torture, Dr Alice Edwards, on behalf of Jimmy Lai.

The urgent appeal addresses a series of concerning issues regarding Mr Lai’s treatment in detention, including:

Mr Lai’s prolonged detention in solitary confinement for over three and a half years, since December 2020, in circumstances which pose a grave risk to his physical and mental health, and to his life, given his age and underlying medical conditions. He has limited human contact and is routinely imprisoned for 23 hours 10 minutes per day, with only 50 minutes for restricted exercise; and he has limited access to daylight;
The denial of access to independent medical care; and
The grossly disproportionate threat of imposition of a life sentence on conviction for entirely peaceful acts.

Jimmy Lai is a 76-year-old British citizen and renowned pro-democracy campaigner, media entrepreneur, and writer. He is currently imprisoned in Hong Kong and has been detained there, in solitary confinement, since December 2020. He is currently standing trial for alleged sedition and alleged conspiracy to collude with foreign agents under the controversial Law of the People’s Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong and Special Administrative Region (“NSL”). On the Prosecution’s own case, Mr Lai is being accused of practising journalism, speaking to politicians about politics, and raising concerns about accountability for human rights violations in Hong Kong. If convicted, Mr Lai faces life imprisonment.

Mr Lai was first detained at Stanley Prison, a maximum-security prison, but was transferred to the Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre at the beginning of the year, following the start of his trial under the NSL on 18th December 2023. The conditions at Stanley Prison and Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre are well documented. The US State Department, in its 2022 report on human rights practices in Hong Kong, reported credible concerns regarding the detention of persons in solitary confinement, and cases of prisoners being subjected to 24-hour glaring lighting, excessively hot and cold temperatures, and the use of degrading conditions as punishment of those who raised complaints regarding their conditions.

Today’s Urgent Appeal also highlights the denial of access to specialised medical care and to physicians of Mr Lai’s choosing. Mr Lai suffers from diabetes. Lack of specialised medical care increases the risk of long-term complications linked to his diabetes due to the failure to properly manage his condition. These concerns are compounded by observations of Mr Lai in court - observers have noted Mr Lai’s significant loss of weight and increasing frailty. These concerns were exacerbated when, on 3rd June 2024, day 87 of the trial, Mr Lai attended court with a fever – he was clearly trembling and feeling unwell.

Mr Lai’s trial has been the subject of significant delays. Originally slated to last for 80 days, it is still ongoing. The prosecution closed its case on 11th June 2024. The trial was adjourned for six weeks until 24th July for legal submissions by the defence that there was no case to answer. The court rejected that submission on 25th July 2024 and adjourned the case for a further 4 months to 20th November 2024, when Mr Lai is expected to start giving his evidence.

On 31st January 2024 the UN announced that the Special Rapporteur on torture had written to the authorities in China to address claims that the evidence of a key prosecution witness in Mr Lai’s trial had been obtained through torture, and calling for an immediate investigation into the allegations.

Earlier, on 22nd January 2024, five Special Rapporteurs released a statement calling for Mr Lai’s immediate and unconditional release.

Concerning his father’s treatment in detention, and today’s Urgent Appeal, Sebastien Lai said today:

“My father has endured so much for standing up for his beliefs and for the people of Hong Kong. He has been imprisoned for over three and a half years and faces the risk of dying behind bars. Today, for the first time, we are filing an Urgent Appeal with the United Nations over my father's appalling and inhumane prison conditions. His treatment by the authorities poses a very serious risk to his health and even to his life.

I urge the United Nations and our Government, the UK, to take immediate action to end his ordeal and ensure his release, before it is too late.”

Speaking today, international counsel for Mr Jimmy Lai and Mr Sebastien Lai, Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, added:

“International law is clear: it is always unlawful for a prisoner to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and States must protect prisoners from such treatment. There is never a justification. And yet, Jimmy Lai – an elderly and diabetic prisoner – has already endured three years and nine months in prolonged solitary confinement, spending over 23 hours per day in a cell; his access to human contact and daylight severely curtailed; and without access to independent medical care.

Regrettably, Mr Lai’s safety, security and human dignity are not being upheld by the Chinese authorities, and so we have resorted to this Urgent Appeal to the United Nations. This unlawful, appalling treatment of Mr Lai must end.”

The international legal team for Jimmy Lai and Sebastien Lai is led by Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC and includes Jonathan Price, Tatyana Eatwell, Jennifer Robinson and Sarah Dobbie, all of Doughty Street Chambers, London.

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