Former prisoners and their families have urged UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to secure the release of Jimmy Lai, a pro-democracy campaigner facing health risks in a Hong Kong jail. Lai, 77, has been in solitary confinement for over 1,600 days under severe conditions, prompting fears for his well-being. A letter signed by 22 former detainees highlights the government's obligation to protect its citizens abroad. Legal counsel has criticized the delays in Lai's case as unacceptable, while family members emphasize the dire need for immediate governmental intervention in securing his freedom.
At a press conference in London on Wednesday, Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, lead international counsel for Lai and his son, Jimmy, said there had been outrageous foot dragging in Lai's case, involving charges under the city's punitive national security law.
Richard Ratcliffe, the husband of Zaghari-Ratcliffe, said: I think we do need to be looking at government squarely in the eye and saying 'How dare you not prioritise the protection of your citizens from torture, from profound injustice and from the risk of death?'
An emotional Anoosheh Ashoori, 71, who was released in Iran at the same time as Zaghari-Ratcliffe, said: Luckily, I was only 116 days in a solitary confinement. With so many others like Jimmy Lai, we can only hope that the government intervenes.
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