Opinion | A speedy pardon in the Jimmy Lai case is unlikely
Foreign governments campaigning for the former media boss’ release should thoroughly look into the nuances of the case as the legal process plays out
Meanwhile, foreign actors have turned their attention to securing Lai’s early release. The lead counsel in his international legal team, Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, called on “leaders 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 last”. However, she did not indicate how his release might be engineered.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio similarly urged the authorities “to grant Mr Lai humanitarian parole”. The European Union’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Anitta Hipper, called for Lai’s immediate release “in consideration of his advanced age and health condition”.
Although these statements came in the wake of Lai’s 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 Lai’s latest sentence have been ordered to run consecutively to the earlier sentence, and the fraud sentence must also be considered in this context.
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