Meanwhile, foreign actors have turned their attention to securing Laiโs early release. The lead counsel in his international legal team, Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, called on โleaders from around the world to speak with one voice in their demand for China to free Jimmy Lai so he can come home to his family in London at lastโ. However, she did not indicate how his release might be engineered.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio similarly urged the authorities โto grant Mr Lai humanitarian paroleโ. The European Unionโs foreign affairs spokesperson, Anitta Hipper, called for Laiโs immediate release โin consideration of his advanced age and health conditionโ.
Although these statements came in the wake of Laiโs national security sentences, nobody referred to the reason he is currently imprisoned. He is now serving a sentence of five years and nine months imprisonment imposed for two fraud offences in December 2022.
If he qualifies for a one-third remission for good behaviour, his earliest release date from that sentence is in June. Otherwise, it will be in May 2028. Either way, 18 years of Laiโs latest sentence have been ordered to run consecutively to the earlier sentence, and the fraud sentence must also be considered in this context.
Did Jimmy Lai get a fair trial? Hong Kong legal experts rebut criticism from the West
Did Jimmy Lai get a fair trial? Hong Kong legal experts rebut criticism from the West