"We are very concerned about the rapid deterioration of press freedom in Hong Kong," 116 publishers wrote in a petition to release the now-defunct Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai. Lai, the founder and publisher of Apple Daily magazine, is in custody and charged with crimes against national security.
The newspaper was forced to close in 2021 after Hong Kong authorities froze the newspaper's assets. In 2020, mainland China introduced a new security law that, according to the Swedish government, "criminalizes separatist and subversive activities, as well as terrorism and association with foreign powers"