WASHINGTON — Lawyers and advocates for Hong Kong democracy and press freedom urged the Senate subcommittee July 22 to press for the immediate and unconditional release of publisher and activist Jimmy Lai, saying his age, health and prolonged solitary confinement create an urgent humanitarian risk.

“Time is frankly running out for Mr. Lai,” Keelan Gallagher, an international human‑rights lawyer who represents Lai, told senators, citing nearly five years of detention and extended solitary confinement. Gallagher said U.N. experts have found Lai’s detention arbitrary and noted that Lai has been denied regular sunlight and spent more than 23 hours a day in a small cell.

Why it matters: Witnesses argued that Lai’s high profile makes his case emblematic of Hong Kong’s eroding freedoms and that his treatment — including multiple prosecutions under the National Security Law and charges that could carry life imprisonment — has wider implications for diplomacy and human‑rights advocacy.

Gallagher and other witnesses called for immediate, coordinated pressure from the United States, the United Kingdom and allied governments. Gallagher said earlier U.S. engagement had helped change U.K. posture on the case and urged senators to press the executive branch to raise Lai’s case in all high‑level bilateral meetings.

Olivia Enos suggested creating a formal U.S. Office of Political Prisoner Advocacy to prioritize prisoner‑release diplomacy and to augment existing Special Envoy and hostage‑affairs work. Witnesses also encouraged congressional adoption of political prisoners and persistent high‑level requests for consular access and humane treatment.

Discussion vs. decision: Senators discussed potential legislative and diplomatic measures; the subcommittee did not adopt a formal resolution or binding action during the hearing.

Ending: Witnesses and senators said Lai’s case should be a standing item in upcoming diplomatic preparations and that continued pressure is required to prevent irreversible harm.