Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Shaws (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking in the light of the urgent appeal to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture of 12 September regarding the detention conditions of Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We are aware of the urgent appeal to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture with respect to British national Jimmy Lai and are deeply concerned by the allegations of torture and mistreatment it makes. The Foreign Secretary raised Jimmy Lai's case in his first meeting with China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi at the ASEAN Summit on 26 July and his case remains a priority for this Government. I met with Sebastien Lai and Jimmy Lai's international legal team on Tuesday 8 October. We will continue to call on the Hong Kong authorities to end their politically motivated prosecution and immediately release Jimmy Lai and we will continue to press for consular access.
Asked by: Baroness Kennedy of Shaws (Labour - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the United Nations Secretary-General's report Cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights, published on 20 August, and what further steps they will take to protect British lawyers working with the United Nations, in the light of the reprisals against Jimmy Lai’s international legal team referred to in the report.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
As the UK set out in a statement at the UN Human Rights Council on 27 September, the content of the UN's report on 'Cooperation with the United Nations, its representatives and mechanisms in the field of human rights' is deeply troubling, including the reports of intimidation and harassment against the son of Jimmy Lai and his international legal team. I met with Sebastien Lai and Jimmy Lai's international legal team on Tuesday 8 October.
Any attempts to coerce, intimidate or harm those who cooperate with the United Nations are unacceptable. The UK unequivocally condemns each and every act of intimidation or reprisal.