Nobel Peace Prize Winner Still in Prison

By Greg Donaldson
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China – A year after becoming the first Chinese citizen to win the Nobel Peace Prize, Liu Xiaobo still finds himself incarcerated. Prior to being awarded the peace prize, Mr. Liu was arrested and sentenced to eleven years in prison for his work which demanded political and legal reform in China.

Liu Xiaobo was detained by Chinese officials and unable to accept the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize at the ceremony last December (Photo Courtesy of AFP)
Liu Xiaobo was detained by Chinese officials last December and did not attend the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Awards Ceremony (Photo Courtesy of AFP)

 

One year later human rights groups are again calling for Mr. Liu’s release. Several organizations have reported that Xiaobo has only been allowed to leave prison once and that was to attend his father’s funeral.

In addition to Mr. Liu’s imprisonment, his wife Liu Xia has been placed under house arrest at the couple’s home in Beijing even though she has not been charged with any crime. When Mr. Liu was awarded the peace prize last year reporters attempted to speak with Ms. Liu at her apartment but were denied by government security guards.

Amnesty International reports that Ms. Liu has had very limited contact with people outside of her apartment since February and in an online chat with a friend explained that she felt miserable and her entire family is being held hostage.

Conflicting reports exist about the visitations Mr. Liu has received while being detained. Amnesty International stated that Mr. Liu has been able to meet with his wife twice since January according to unofficial reports. However, other sources explain that Mr. Liu was not given any visitation rights until last month after he was visited by his brothers.

Monthly visits to imprisoned family members are protected by Chinese law.

Human rights groups are appealing for international support to release Mr. Liu. In a telephone interview with the New York Times, Nicholas Bequelin, a researcher for Human Rights Watch explained “The only thing that would force the government to reassess the decision is if there was some strong international pressure on China in this case, but the pressure is not there.”

He continued “There’s no incentive for the government to revisit this decision. We’re talking about a climate where standing defiantly against the West is reaping more political awards than collaborating.”

Others outside of the Liu family have been affected by Mr. Liu’s winning of the peace prize including the country of Norway. Prior to awarding the peace prize, the Chinese embassy in Oslo warned that diplomatic ties between China and Norway would suffer if the Nobel Peace prize was handed to “a criminal.”

Following the awarding of the peace prize China imposed additional import controls on Norwegian salmon. These controls have reportedly led to a sixty-one percent decrease in salmon sales to China and thousands of salmon rotting in Chinese warehouses.

For more information, please see:

New York Times – 3 Human Rights Groups Call for Release of Imprisoned Chinese Nobel Laureate – 7 October 2011

Asia One News — One Year After Nobel, Silence Shrouds China Dissident — 6 October 2011

The Independent – Norway’s Salmon Rot as China Takes Revenge for Dissident’s Nobel Prize – 6 October 2011

Radio Free Asia – Nobel Laureate Granted Family Visits – 4 October 2011

Author: Impunity Watch Archive