"Yvette Cooper, the UK foreign secretary, said: For 78-year-old Jimmy Lai, 20 years is an effective life sentence, following a politically motivated prosecution under a law that was imposed to silence China's critics. The Hong Kong authorities must end Jimmy Lai's appalling ordeal and release him to be with his family. His son Sebastian said Lai feared dying alone while his legal team called him the world's current highest profile political prisoner."
"The UN rights chief, Volker Turk, said the verdict was incompatible with international law and must be quashed. This outcome highlights how the vague and overly broad provisions of Hong Kong's national security legislation can lead to being interpreted and enforced in violation of Hong Kong's international human rights obligations, he said. Anitta Hipper, an EU spokesperson, said that bloc deplores the outcome of Lai's years-long prosecution and called for his immediate and unconditional release."
Jimmy Lai, a 78-year-old British pro-democracy publisher and founder of Apple Daily, has been sentenced to 20 years in Hong Kong on national security convictions widely criticized as politically motivated. The UK, UN, European Union and rights groups condemned the sentence and called for his immediate release, with the UN saying the verdict is incompatible with international law. Lai’s son says he fears dying alone, and legal advocates describe Lai as a high-profile political prisoner. Lai was arrested in 2020 after Beijing imposed the national security law following months of pro-democracy protests; critics say the law criminalizes dissent while Chinese and Hong Kong authorities say it was necessary to restore stability.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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