Following an Oct. 28 meeting between the son of imprisoned Catholic Chinese dissident Jimmy Lai and Italy’s special envoy for religious freedom, the envoy confirmed that Italy’s foreign ministry supports efforts to secure Lai’s release.
“It is necessary to work, also in international forums, using the tools of politics and diplomacy, to put an end to Jimmy Lai’s suffering,” Davide Dionisi, the foreign minister’s special envoy, said, according to the New Daily Compass.
“He has been in prison since December 2020 for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression,” he added. “The Foreign Ministry will play its part.”
Dionisi also said that China has to play a larger role in building peace and security in Asia and globally, adding, “We would like to see more progress on religious freedom, for example, given that Jimmy is a Catholic prisoner who is denied Mass and the sacraments.”
Lai’s son Sebastien, who has long advocated for his father’s release from solitary confinement in a Hong Kong prison, met with Dionisi in Italy after attending the Bussola/Daily Compass annual conference this past weekend, according to the outlet. CatholicVote reported that Sebastien testified at the conference about the importance of obtaining freedom for his father, stressing that it “is now a humanitarian issue.”
“I hope international pressure will convince the Chinese authorities to release him or expel him from Hong Kong,” Sebastien added.
The Bussola/Daily Compass organized the meeting between Sebastien and Dionisi. Sebastien also had a private meeting with Chamber of Deputies Speaker Lorzeno Fontana, who, according to the New Daily Compass, expressed support for Sebastien’s efforts to free his father, who is a British citizen.
New Daily Compass Editor-in-Chief Riccardo Cascioli expressed gratitude in the report for the Italian government and especially Dionisi “for his commitment to follow up on the case by asking the Chinese authorities for Jimmy Lai’s release, and to President Fontana for his willingness to listen and follow developments.”
The leader of Lai’s international legal team, Caoilfhionn Gallagher KC, welcomed Italy’s commitment to pursue Lai’s release, according to a press release from Doughty Street Chambers, a United Kingdom-based legal services organization.
“[Lai] is a prisoner of conscience who should never have spent a single day in prison, let alone half a decade,” Gallagher said. “There is now a clear international consensus from multiple Governments, the European Union, United Nations experts, press freedom organisations and Roman Catholic leaders: it is long past time to free Jimmy Lai. And there must be clear consequences for China and Hong Kong if they fail to do so.”
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