The strongly worded statements on Thursday were in response to a joint call from the foreign ministers of the G7 and the European Union’s high representative, who condemned Lai’s prosecution while expressing their ongoing concerns about “deteriorating rights, freedoms and autonomy in Hong Kong”.
The Group of Seven comprises Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
“We call on the Hong Kong authorities to end such prosecutions and to release Jimmy Lai immediately,” the joint statement said.
In their 855-page judgment, the judges said Lai was the mastermind behind three conspiracies to instigate international sanctions and hostile activities against Hong Kong and mainland China, and to print seditious articles through Apple Daily, the now-defunct newspaper he founded.
The Commissioner’s Office of China’s Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong hit back at the G7’s criticism, saying their statement was no more than “a piece of wasted paper”.
