That the Parliament notes with concern that 26 September 2023 will be the 1,000th day of imprisonment of the Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigner and British citizen, Jimmy Lai; understands that Mr Lai was first imprisoned under an unjust and juryless trial on the grounds of what it sees as the new, Beijing-imposed "national security law"; notes that a Hong Kong court has reportedly suggested a further delay to the latest national security trial of Mr Lai, which is now expected to start in December 2023 and last for 80 days, after a further delay of 12 months, which it believes was to allow authorities the time to rewrite the rules of the trial to deny the campaigner his choice of lawyer, and urges the UK Government to recognise Mr Lai as a political prisoner and to call for his immediate release, and for the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to respect the human rights of all residents, journalists and pro-democracy activists in Hong Kong.
Supported by:
Jackie Baillie, Jeremy Balfour, Maggie Chapman, Alex Cole-Hamilton, Kenneth Gibson, Bill Kidd, Fulton MacGregor, Gillian Mackay, John Mason, Ivan McKee, Stuart McMillan, Kevin Stewart, Paul Sweeney, David Torrance, Evelyn Tweed