Gov't defends Jimmy Lai's detention arrangements after newspaper op-ed alleges ‘appalling conditions' in custody
In this picture taken on June 16, 2020, millionaire media tycoon Jimmy Lai, speaks during an interview at the Next Digital offices in Hong Kong. File photo: Anthony Wallace/AFP.
The government said in a statement on Wednesday evening that it strongly condemned 'various organisations in the United States… and Western countries for 'disregarding the facts' and 'smearing' the government's handling of Lai's national security case.
Lai, the 77-year-old founder of the now-defunct pro-democracy media outlet Apple Daily, has been detained since December 2020. His national security trial was adjourned in March and will restart in August.
Separately, he is also serving an almost six-year sentence for fraud over violating lease agreements relating to Apple Daily's headquarters.
'Their remarks fully exposed the malicious and despicable intentions of anti-China organisations and media from the US and Western countries to undermine the rule of law in Hong Kong,' the statement read.
The remarks came after Mark L. Clifford, the former director of Apple Daily's parent company Next Digital, said in an opinion piece on Wall Street Journal that Lai 'has been in solitary confinement for most of his time behind bars. He said he was concerned about Lai's health in the 'windowless cell,' especially amid the city's hot summers.
Stanley Prison. File Photo: Frog Wong, via Google Map.
Clifford said Hong Kong's temperature next week was forecast to be in the 90s in Fahrenheit, or over 32 degrees Celsius, and the humidity is expected to be 95 per cent. He said it would 'feel as if it is more than 100 degrees,' or almost 38 degrees Celsius.
'In Mr. Lai's un-air-conditioned windowless cell, it will feel even hotter. That is neither safe nor humane,' Clifford, who has authored a book about Lai, said.
'Why is Hong Kong so aggressive in responding to questions about Mr. Lai? The answer lies in the absurdity of holding a 77-year-old newspaper publisher in appalling conditions while he is being tried on sham charges,' he wrote.
Foreign lawyers' claims
Apart from Clifford, a team of Lai's overseas-based lawyers including King's Counsel Caoilfhionn Gallagher, who has described herself as a counsel for Lai, have been alleging that the mogul has been placed in prolonged solitary confinement for almost four years.
Last September, the team also made an appeal to the UN alleging that Lai had been denied access to diabetes medication.
Following the foreign lawyers' claims, Lai's local legal representatives, from Robertsons Solicitors, said Lai wanted it to be known that he had been receiving 'medical attention' for his conditions, including diabetes, Bloomberg reported.
Jimmy Lai's son, Sebastien Lai (left) and King's Counsel Caoilfhionn Gallagher. Photo: FreeJimmyLai, via X.
Lai also has access to 'daylight through the windows in the corridor outside his cell albeit he cannot see the sky,' and is allowed to do exercises for an hour every day, according to the local lawyers.
In Wednesday's statement, the Hong Kong government said the solitary confinement was made at Lai's request and approved by the Correctional Services Department (CSD). The department 'attaches great importance' to the health and safety of those in custody, it added.
'[T]he CSD is committed to ensuring that the custodial environment is secure, safe, humane, appropriate and healthy, and that an environment with good ventilation, as well as appropriate and timely medical support will be provided,' the statement read.
In June 2020, Beijing inserted national security legislation directly into Hong Kong's mini-constitution – bypassing the local legislature – following a year of pro-democracy protests and unrest. It criminalised subversion, secession, collusion with foreign forces and terrorist acts, which were broadly defined to include disruption to transport and other infrastructure.
The move gave police sweeping new powers, alarming democrats, civil society groups and trade partners, as such laws have been used broadly to silence and punish dissidents in China. However, the authorities say it has restored stability and peace to the city.
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