The daughter of Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy tycoon jailed in Hong Kong, has expressed concerns about her father's deteriorating health in prison, saying that his fingernails sometimes fall off and his teeth are rotting.
Lai, 78, has been detained since December 2020 and faces life in prison. Earlier this month, he was convicted of colluding with foreign forces under the city's controversial national security law (NSL).
Hong Kong and Chinese authorities have denied that Lai has been mistreated in prison, stating he is in good health.
The BBC has seen a letter written by Lai's family urging UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer to call for Lai's release when he meets Chinese President Xi Jinping next month.
His daughter Claire Lai, who is in exile in London, told the BBC that she fears she may never see him again. Of course I worry that my father is going to be a martyr, and I don't want him to be a martyr. But I would not be here today, I would not be speaking out if I didn't think this was his best chance of reuniting with our family, she stated.
She described her father as an extremely robust and strong man when he went to prison, but noted that over the last year he has lost a significant amount of weight. He is diabetic, he has heart issues which he never had in the past. He has fingernails that turn purplish grey and sometimes fall off. He has teeth that are rotting.
He has back and waist pains. Some days it's painful for him to stand. Sometimes he can't stand. And some days he can't even get out of bed. Lai's family has repeatedly expressed concerns about his declining health. His son, Sebastien, told the BBC earlier this year that his father's body is breaking down.
A spokesperson for the Commissioner's Office of the Chinese Foreign Ministry in Hong Kong maintained that Lai's lawful rights and interests have been fully protected, and he is in good health.
They added that a safe, humane, appropriate, and healthy custodial environment in accordance with the law has been provided for Lai.
Lai, a UK citizen, is the most prominent figure to be charged under the NSL, introduced in 2020 in response to massive pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.
While Beijing defends the law as necessary for stability, critics argue it has effectively outlawed dissent. Lai was accused of lobbying foreign governments for sanctions against Hong Kong and China, and he was also found guilty under colonial-era laws for publishing seditious material in his now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper.
The UK condemned Lai's conviction as politically motivated persecution, asserting he was targeted for peacefully exercising his freedom of expression. The UK has been calling for the repeal of the National Security Law and for an end to the prosecution of all individuals charged under it.
In their statement earlier this month, Chinese authorities rebuked Western efforts to influence judicial verdicts as an affront to the rule of law, vehemently opposing what they termed hypocritical double standards. Starmer's upcoming trip to China in late January 2026 marks the first visit by a UK Prime Minister since 2018.
