China-Hong Kong: 72 human rights organisations urge UK PM to secure Jimmy Lai’s release as his health deteriorates
21 August 2025: Today, PEN International and PEN Centres joined a coalition of 72 freedom of expression and human rights organisations in a letter to the UK’s Prime Minister, Sir Kier Starmer, urging him to secure the release of writer, media publisher and UK citizen Jimmy Lai.
Earlier this week, Jimmy Lai’s long-running national security trial resumed for closing arguments after being delayed twice last week due to poor weather and concerns over Jimmy Lai’s health, which has deteriorated significantly over the last year. Aged 77, Jimmy Lai has been held in solitary confinement for almost five years and faces a potential life sentence if convicted.
During yesterday’s closing arguments, a representative of Jimmy Lai’s defence team addressed the judges, stating ‘It is not wrong to support freedom of expression. It is not wrong to support human rights‘.
In the joint letter, led by Reporters Without Borders, the coalition calls on the UK government to act swiftly to secure Jimmy Lai’s humanitarian release on medical grounds, so he can be reunited with his family and receive necessary medical care.
For further background information on Jimmy Lai, please refer to the PEN International Case List.
A full transcript of the letter sent to the UK Prime Minister can be found below:
The Rt Hon Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer KC 10
Downing Street
London
SW1A 2AB
Dear Prime Minister,
21 August 2025 We, a coalition of 72 human rights and press freedom organisations, are writing to express our profound concern over the rapidly deteriorating health of Jimmy Lai, the 77-year-old British publisher, writer, and media entrepreneur, who has now endured over 1,680 days in solitary confinement in Hong Kong. During this time, his health has significantly deteriorated. He remains imprisoned while awaiting the outcome of a politically motivated trial that has been repeatedly delayed, further undermining his right to a fair and timely legal process.
On 15 August, the trial was postponed again after it was revealed that Mr. Lai had suffered heart palpitations and episodes where he felt as though he were “collapsing.” Despite this, the court rejected a defence request to excuse him from attending the closing arguments and instead proceeded with rescheduling the hearing, demonstrating a disturbing disregard for his fragile health and well-being.
As a British citizen, Mr. Lai has been enduring an unthinkable ordeal in prison, including solitary confinement with only 50 minutes of exercise per day and minimal access to natural light. At his age, and given his pre-existing medical conditions, including diabetes, the lack of specialised medical care puts him at severe risk of life-threatening complications. His international legal team has already raised alarms about his alarming weight loss and growing physical frailty.
Prime Minister, given Britain’s unique relationship with Hong Kong and its status as Jimmy Lai’s home nation, you have a responsibility to take strong leadership in this case, acting swiftly and decisively.
With each passing day, the risk that Mr. Lai could die in prison increases. We appreciate your statements in Parliament acknowledging the significance of this case to your government and your ongoing efforts to raise it at the highest levels. However, the time for statements has passed. We urge you to act now to secure Jimmy Lai’s immediate release before he dies in prison.
We therefore respectfully call on you to demand Mr. Lai’s urgent humanitarian release on medical grounds, so that he may reunite with his family in the United Kingdom and receive the care he needs.
We stand ready to support you in any way we can as you work to secure Jimmy Lai’s release.
Yours sincerely,
Access Now
Anti-Globalist International
ARTICLE 19
Asia Freedom Institute (AFI)
Aus-Hong Kong Connex 港人滙坊
Australia Hong Kong Link
Australian and New Zealand Alliance for Victims of the Chinese Communist Regime
Bay Area Friends of Tibet
Birmingham HongKongers
Cambodian Journalists Alliance Association (CamboJA)
China Change
Chinese Human Rights Defenders
Coalition For Women In Journalism
Committee for Freedom in Hong Kong (CFHK)
Committee to Protect Journalists
English PEN
Étudiants pour un Tibet Libre, France
Forum 2000 Foundation, Czechia
Freiheit für Hongkong e.V.
GreatFire
Grupo de Apoio ao Tibete-Portugal
Hong Kong Aid 港援
Hong Kong Committee in Norway
Hong Kong Human Rights Front
Hong Kong Watch
Hong Konger in San Diego
Hongkonger in Deutschland e.V. 香港人在德國協會
Hongkongers in Britain 英國港僑協會
Human Rights Foundation
Human Rights in China
Humanitarian China
Independent Chinese PEN Center (ICPC)
Index on Censorship
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), in the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders
International Service for Human Rights (ISHR)
International Tibet Network
Lamp of Liberty
Legal Initiatives for Vietnam (LIV)
Liberal Democratic League of Ukraine
Media Diversity Institute
New South Wales Hong Kong Friends 新州自己友
Northern California Hong Kong Club
NSW Hong Kong Friends
Ontario Hong Kong Youth Action
PEN America
PEN Canada
PEN International
PEN Melbourne
PEN Sweden
PEN Tibet
Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
Safeguard Defenders
Scottish Hongkongers
Society for Threatened Peoples / Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker, Germany
Solidarité Chine
Students for a Free Tibet
Students For A Free Tibet, Japan
Taiwan Association for Human Rights 台灣人權促進會
The Association for the Defense of Human Rights and Religious Freedom (ADHRRF)
The European Hong Kong Diaspora Alliance 歐洲香港人聯盟
The Global Alliance for Tibet & Persecuted Minorities (GATPM)
The Hong Kong Scots
US Hongkongers Club 美國香港人會館
Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP)
Vancouver Activists of Hong Kong (VAHK) 溫哥華手足
Vancouver Society in Support of Democratic Movement (VSSDM)
Victoria Hongkongers Association (Australia) 澳洲維港
Viet Tan
Wahrheitskämpfer e.V. Fighters for Truth - Memorial for Press Freedom Germany
Women's Rights Without Frontiers
World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), in the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders