Liu XiaoboChina
2010 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo, 56, is a Chinese scholar and renowned dissident who was sentenced to 11 years in prison for “inciting subversion of state power” on December 25, 2009, for his role in drafting Charter 08. An English-version of Charter 08 can be read here. Dr. Liu is widely considered China’s most prominent dissident. He has been selected to receive the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize for his “long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.”
The Chinese government previously detained Dr. Liu for his peaceful democracy advocacy on three occasions, including his participation in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. Dr. Liu was one of four intellectuals who negotiated with the army for the safe passage of students out of the Square.
In 2008, Dr. Liu was one of the primary drafters of Charter 08, a political manifesto modeled on the Czechoslovakian Charter ’77. Charter 08 calls for increased rule of law, greater respect for human rights, and the end to one-party rule in China. Although mention of the online petition is not allowed within China’s great Internet firewall, to date, Charter 08 has been signed by almost 10,000 Chinese citizens and is considered influential in beginning to unite the Chinese dissident movement.
The Chinese government detained Dr. Liu on December 8, 2008—two days before the official release of Charter 08 on the 60th Anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The government held Dr. Liu in solitary confinement and denied him access to his lawyers.
Dr. Liu was not formally arrested until June 23, 2009, when the State News Agency, Xinhua, quoted police as saying in a statement that ”Liu has been engaged in agitation activities, such as spreading of rumors and defaming of the government, aimed at subversion of the state and overthrowing the socialism system in recent years.”
On December 23, 2009, Dr. Liu was tried for “inciting subversion to state power” under Article 105 of the Chinese Criminal Procedure Code. His trial violated international standards for due process of law. His wife, Liu Xia, and foreign diplomats and journalists were not allowed to attend the trial. On December 25, 2009, he was sentenced to 11 years in prison and two years deprivation of political rights. In the verdict, his signing of Charter 08 was named as part of the evidence against him.
After the Nobel Committee announced that Dr. Liu was the recipient of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, Dr. Liu’s wife, Liu Xia, was placed under de facto house arrest. Liu Xia was escorted to Jinzhou prison to inform Dr. Liu that he won the Nobel Peace Prize and subsequently escorted back to her Beijing apartment, where she remains detained today. Her communication with the outside world is restricted. Many supporters of Liu Xiaobo are now also under house arrest or otherwise detained.
Heads of state, prominent intellectuals, and Nobel Peace Prize Laureates have called for Dr. Liu’s release. Dr. Liu was nominated for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize by Freedom Now Honorary Co-chairs Archbishop Desmond Tutu and The Honorable Václav Havel, as well as the Dalai Lama, André Glucksmann, Vartan Gregorian, Mike Moore, Karel Schwarzenberg, and Grigory Yavlinsky.
Freedom Now represents Dr. Liu as his international pro bono legal counsel with a team of international human rights specialists, including NYU Law Professor and Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations Jerome A. Cohen, Canadian Member of Parliament and former Minister of Justice and Attorney General Irwin Cotler, Former Canadian Member of Parliament and Secretary of State, Asia Pacific David Kilgour, and former Freedom Now client and Founder and President of Initiatives for China Dr. Yang Jianli.
- Selected documents from Liu Xiaobo's case
- Canadian Parliament Letter to Prime Minister Harper November 4, 2010
Urging the Prime Minister to Raise the cases of Liu Xiaobo and Gao Zhisheng with Chinese President Hu Jintao.
- China Must Release Liu Xiaobo – or Lose its CredibilityDecember 5, 2010
The Observer Op-Ed by Václav Havel and Desmond Tutu arguing that Beijing will lose respect unless it allows Liu Xiaobo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize on December 10.
- Criminalizing Dissent November 1, 2010
Ottawa Citizen Op-Ed by Irwin Cotler.
- Do We Have to Wait 30 Years for Human Rights in China?January 21, 2011
Op-Ed by Washington Post Editorial Page Editor Fred Hiatt calling on President Obama to hold the Government of China accountable for its continued and illegal detention of Freedom Now clients Liu Xiaobo and Gao Zhisheng.
- Empty Chairs in Oslo Speak VolumesNovember 11, 2010
Wall Street Journal Op-Ed by Jerome A. Cohen and Eva Pils calling attention to China’s efforts to prevent supporters of Liu Xiaobo from attending the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo.
- Freedom Now Press Release December 10, 2010
Deploring the decision of the Chinese Government to prevent Liu Xiaobo and his wife, Liu Xia, from attending the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony.
- Freedom Now Press ReleaseOctober 8, 2010
Releasing the statement of Liu Xia, Liu Xiaobo’s wife, welcoming the announcement of the Nobel Committee awarding the Peace Prize to her husband.
- Freedom Now Press Release November 5, 2010
Canadian Parliament Members Urge Prime Minister Harper to Raise Cases of Liu Xiaobo and Gao Zhisheng with Chinese President Hu Jintao.
- Freedom Now Press Release November 5, 2010
Members of British Parliament Urge Prime Minister Cameron to Address Cases of Liu Xiaobo and Gao Zhisheng at G-20.
- Freedom Now Press Release December 8, 2010
Welcoming U.S. House of Representatives Resolution 1717 calling for the Release of Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia.
- Freedom Now Press Release August 1, 2011
Announcing the opinion of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention finding that the detention of 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo and his wife, Liu Xia, is a violation of international law and calling for their immediate release.
- Freedom Now: Press ReleaseOctober 10, 2010
Announcing that Liu Xiaobo's wife Liu Xia is being detained.
- If China frees Nobel winner, it will show its strengthOctober 22, 2010
Washington Post Op-Ed by Václav Havel and Desmond Tutu
- Letter from 15 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and Freedom Now Press ReleaseOctober 25, 2010
Calling on world leaders to urge Chinese President Hu Jintao to release Liu Xiaobo and his wife Liu Xia.
- Letter from 30 Members of CongressOctober 6, 2010
Urging President Obama to ask Chinese President Hu Jintao at the G20 summit in Seoul, South Korea from November 11-12, 2010, to release Liu Xiaobo and Gao Zhisheng.
- Letter from 30 members of CongressJanuary 14, 2011
Calling on President Obama to raise human rights during China’s 2011 state visit and calling for the release of Liu Xiaobo and Gao Zhisheng.
- Letter from British Parliament Members to Prime Minister Cameron November 5, 2010
Urging Prime Minister to Address Cases of Liu Xiaobo and Gao Zhisheng at G-20.
- Letter from U.S. Representative Ros-LehtinenJanuary 14, 2011
Calling on President Obama to raise human rights during China’s 2011 state visit and calling for the release of Liu Xiaobo and Gao Zhisheng.
- Liu Xiaobo Deserved the Nobel PrizeJanuary 4, 2011
Ottawa Citizen Op-Ed by David Kilgour
- Mr. Obama, Speak Up for Human Rights in China January 19, 2011
Washington Post Op-Ed by former Chinese political prisoner and Freedom Now client Dr. Yang Jianli.
- Nobel Prize and human rightsOctober 13, 2011
The Korean Times op-ed by Freedom Now founder Jared Genser comments on the plight of last year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner Dr. Liu Xiaobo, his wife, Liu Xia, and fellow Chinese prisoner of conscience, Gao Zhisheng.
- Petitions to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention November 4, 2010
Submitted by Freedom Now on behalf of Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia.
- President Obama Makes Hu Jintao Look Good on RightsJanuary 19, 2011
Washington Post Editorial reaffirming call for release of Freedom Now clients Liu Xiaobo and Gao Zhisheng.
- Press Release December 8, 2011
Announcing the creation of the International Committee of Support to Liu Xiaobo.
- Press Release by Irwin Cotler M.P., member of Liu Xiaobo’s international legal team December 14, 2010
Announcing that the Canadian Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Human Rights unanimously passed a resolution welcoming the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize and calling on the Chinese government to release Liu Xiaobo.
- Statements of Support and Calls for the Release of Liu XiaoboOctober 13, 2010
Made by prominent leaders of the international community.
- The West must not forget Liu Xiaobo’s plightAugust 1, 2011
Times Op-Ed by Jared Genser commenting on the opinion of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary -Detention finding the detention of Liu Xiaobo and his wife, Liu Xia, to be in violation of international law and calling for their immediate release.
- UN Calls for Liu Xiaobo’s Release August 7, 2011
Voice of America editorial reporting that the UN’s panel of independent human rights experts has called for China to free Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo and his wife immediately.