In his tireless global campaign to save 77-year-old media publisher Jimmy Lai from life imprisonment in Hong Kong, Sebastien Lai has not seen his father for more than four years.

Sebastien, who leads the #FreeJimmyLai campaign, last saw his father in August 2020 — weeks after Beijing imposed a national security law that led to a massive crackdown on pro-democracy advocates and journalists. Among them Lai, founder of the now-shuttered pro-democracy newspaper Apple Daily.

After nearly four years in Hong Kong’s maximum-security Stanley Prison and multiple delays to his trial, the aging British citizen was due to take the stand for the first time on November 20 on charges of sedition and conspiring to collude with foreign forces, which he denies.

In an interview with CPJ’s Beh Lih Yi, Sebastien spoke about prison’s toll on his father, why he should be released immediately, and how Britain and other nations are supporting that effort.

**Read more****-CPJ demands Hong Kong end Lai’s show trial**

Less than a month after being moved to house arrest, a Guatemalan appeals court ordered journalist José Rubén Zamora back to jail on November 15, 2024. Zamora’s lawyers and the attorney general have appealed the motion, his son told CPJ.

The decision is a new blow to press freedom in Guatemala. Zamora, president of the now defunct elPeriódico newspaper, had already spent 813 days in jail.

In an interview with CPJ before the overturning of his house arrest, Zamora discussed the personal toll of these charges and his unyielding commitment to press freedom.

We defend the right of journalists to report the news safely and without fear of reprisal.

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