Jimmy Lai’s son: ‘His health has deteriorated, he has lost 10 kg in a year’

Milan, 15 February (LaPresse) – Jimmy Lai’s health “has deteriorated significantly. He turns 78 this year and has been held in isolation for the last five years. He is alone, spending 23 hours and 10 minutes a day in isolation, with 40-50 minutes of fresh air, during which he is still alone. There is no natural light in his cell, and as you can imagine, in Hong Kong in the summer, temperatures reach 30-40 degrees, the heat remains trapped inside, he is effectively baking, and his health has deteriorated dramatically. In the last 12 months, he has lost 10 kg and now has heart problems’. This was reported by Sebastien Lai, son of Jimmy Lai, activist and former Hong Kong media mogul sentenced to 20 years in prison, interviewed by the programme “In Mezz’ora” on Rai3. ‘Anyone his age put in those conditions for even 100 days would be severely affected. He has been there for 1,800 days, yet even though his health has deteriorated, his mind and spirit are strong. His faith is a fundamental component and is the reason why he has decided to fight for what he believes is right,’ Sebastien Lai continued. ‘He is still very strong in his faith. This is the man he is, and I continue to fight for him. We are very grateful to Italy for joining the call for his release. This really makes a difference,’ he said, reiterating that he will continue ‘to fight for him.’