Saqib has co-signed a letter with over 100 politicians from around the world, including from Canada, Australia and France, urgently demanding that China immediately release 77-year-old British citizen Jimmy Lai.
Mr Lai has been held in Hong Kong by the Chinese authorities since February 2021. In December 2023, he was put on trial under the controversial and authoritarian National Security Law which violates freedoms in Hong Kong and is described by the UK Government as a violation of the Sino-British Joint Declaration.
In the week that Sir Keir Starmer met with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the letter pushes China to change tact in what they describe as the “inhumane” treatment of Mr Lai.
In the letter, the politicians say that they ‘stand with the UK Government, the US Government, the Canadian Parliament, the European Parliament, five UN Special Rapporteurs, and the leaders of the Catholic Church in calling for the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities to release Jimmy Lai before it is too late.’
They claim that ‘the world watches as the rule of law, media freedom and human rights in Hong Kong are eroded and undermined.’
