The Committee to Protect Journalists has joined 32 organizations in calling on British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to use a planned visit to China next year to push for the release of Jimmy Lai, who was convicted in Hong Kong on Monday of national security offenses.
Lai, a 78-year-old British citizen and founder of the defunct Hong Kong pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily, was found guilty by a Hong Kong court of two counts of conspiracy to collude with foreign forces and another count of conspiring to publish seditious material. He faces a potential sentence of life imprisonment.
In the letter, the signatories called on Starmer to make any trade deal or economic concession offered to Beijing during a planned visit in January 2026 contingent on the release of Lai. The letter said the U.K. government must be prepared to demonstrate it will not “sacrifice the freedom of its citizens in order to receive vague assurances and promises of trade and investment in return.”
Since his arrest in 2020, Lai has spent much of his detention in solitary confinement. He suffers from diabetes and heart conditions, and his health has deteriorated significantly while in custody. Unless he is released, he will “almost certainly die in prison,” the letter said.
Read the full joint letter here.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by CPJ Staff.
CPJ Staff | Radio Free (2025-12-16T10:50:46+00:00) CPJ joins 32 groups urging UK leader Starmer to secure Jimmy Lai’s release during China trade talks. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2025/12/16/cpj-joins-32-groups-urging-uk-leader-starmer-to-secure-jimmy-lais-release-during-china-trade-talks/
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