UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned Hong Kong’s trial of Jimmy Lai as “politically motivated,” making him the only world leader so far to weigh in on the hearing that could see the former media mogul jailed for life.

“Jimmy Lai’s prosecution is politically motived. He has faced multiple prosecutions in an attempt to silence and discredit him,” Sunak wrote, according to a copy of a letter shared online by David Alton, a member of the House of Lords. Lai is a “champion of free speech,” the leader said in comments dated Jan. 3 said to be a response to a letter from Alton and others.