Additional Name(s): Jimmy Lai Chee-ying, 黎智英, 黎智英
Gender: Male
Current Location: Stanley Prison, Hong Kong
Perpetrator: China
Religion or Belief: Christian – Catholic
Sentence: 5 Years, 9 Months' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: December/31/2020
Current Status: Not Released
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Religious Freedom Advocacy
Nature of Charges: Embezzlement & Fraud Illegal Assembly Treason & Sedition
Jimmy Lai
Extra Bio Info:
Jimmy Lai's imprisonment inhibits religious freedom advocacy.
On August 10, 2020, Lai, a media mogul, democracy activist, and advocate of religious freedom, was arrested from his home in Hong Kong for “colluding with a foreign country or with external elements to endanger national security” (Art. 29 National Security Law) and “conspiracy to defraud.” Lai was granted bail the following day.
On December 3, 2020, Lai was remanded back into custody after his bail was revoked.
On December 11, 2020, Jimmy Lai was charged under the Beijing-imposed National Security Law (NSL) with two counts of “conspiracy to commit collusion with foreign countries or external elements” and one count of “collusion with foreign countries or external elements.”
On December 23, 2020, Lai was granted bail again.
On December 31, 2020, Lai was taken back into custody after the government succeeded in challenging the High Court’s decision to grant bail.
On April 16, 2021, a Hong Kong judge sentenced Lai to 14 months in prison in relation to his involvement in two peaceful protests in 2019.
On May 28, 2021, the Hong Kong District Court sentenced Lai to another 14 months in prison for his involvement in an unauthorized assembly in October 2019.
On December 9, 2021, Lai was convicted for "unauthorized assembly" for participating in a Tiananmen Square vigil on June 4, 2020.
On December 13, 2021, the Hong Kong District Court sentenced Lai to an additional 13 months in prison.
On October 25, 2022, Lai was convicted of fraud over an alleged lease violation. A court sentenced him to five years and nine months in prison. Lai's sentences are to run concurrently.
In August 2023, an appeals court overturned Lai's conviction for organizing an unauthorized assembly but upheld his conviction for participating in an unauthorized gathering.
Sources report that Lai has been subjected to prolonged solitary confinement with no natural light and has not been provided access to the Catholic sacrament of the Eucharist.
Lai is serving his sentence in Stanley Prison, Hong Kong.
Publicly Available Information:
- "Jimmy Lai Chee-ying" Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC)
- USCIRF Annual Report 2024: China
- "Evidence against Jimmy Lai ‘obtained through torture’: UN expert" Radio Free Asia (RFA)
- "Hong Kong pro-democracy advocates have part of convictions quashed" The Guardian
- USCIRF Annual Report 2023: China
- USCIRF Commissioner Nury Turkel, Tweet, October 26, 2022
- "Pro-democracy publisher Lai found guilty on fraud charges" Associated Press (AP)
- USCIRF Annual Report 2022: China
- "Hong Kong Court Sentences Jimmy Lai to Prison Over Tiananmen Vigil" New York Times (NYT)
- "Jimmy Lai and two other Hong Kong democracy activists found guilty over June 4 assembly" Cable News Network (CNN)
- "Hong Kong: Jimmy Lai jailed again for pro-democracy protests" British Broadcasting Company (BBC)
- USCIRF Press Release: USCIRF Condemns Chinese Government’s Sanction on Former Commissioner, May 27, 2021
- USCIRF Annual Report 2021: China
- "Hong Kong Newspaper Tycoon Jimmy Lai Jailed Over Role in Peaceful Protests" Wall Street Journal (WSJ)
- USCIRF Event: FoRB Victims List and Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project Update, February 25, 2021
- USCIRF Press Release: USCIRF Commissioner Johnnie Moore Adopts Jimmy Lai through the Religious Prisoners of Conscience Project, December 16, 2020
- "Democracy Activist Jimmy Lai Charged Under Hong Kong National Security Law" National Public Radio (NPR)
- USCIRF RPOC Project
Gender: Female
Perpetrator: China
Religion or Belief: Falun Gong
Reports of Torture: Yes
Reports of Medical Neglect: Yes
Sentence: 4 Years' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: July//2018
Date of Sentencing: March//2019
Current Status: Unknown
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity
Nature of Charges: Unknown
Xu Guixian
Extra Bio Info:
Xu Guixian was imprisoned for her religious activity.
In July 2018, authorities arrested Xu reportedly in relation to her practice of Falun Gong.
In March 2019, Xu was reportedly sentenced to four years in prison.
While imprisoned, Xu has reportedly been tortured, mistreated, and denied adequate medical care.
Xu is reportedly in poor health.
Xu's sentence should have ended in July 2022.
Publicly Available Information:
Gender: Female
Perpetrator: China
Religion or Belief: Falun Gong
Reports of Torture: No
Reports of Medical Neglect: No
Sentence: 4 Years' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: April//2018
Current Status: Unknown
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Possession of Religious Materials Religious Activity
Nature of Charges: Unknown
Yang Xiaohua
Extra Bio Info:
Yang Xiaohua was imprisoned for her religious activity and belief.
In April 2018, authorities arrested Yang in relation to her Falun Gong activity. Police reportedly seized Falun Gong-related materials from Yang's home.
In 2019, Yang was sentenced to four years in prison.
Yang's sentence should have ended in April 2022.