China: Nobel Peace Prize Winner Liu Xiaobo --- His Last Statement Before 11 Years in Prison
Friday, October 8, 2010 at 12:46
Today Liu Xiaobo, a Chinese intellectual and human rights activist, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. President of the Independent Chinese PEN Center since 2003, he was detained in December 2008 because of his involvement in Charter 08, a manifesto signed by more than 300 Chinese intellectuals and activists for reform and democratisation.
Liu was formally arrested in June 2009 for "inciting subversion of state power". He was tried on 23 December and, two days later, was sentenced to 11 years in prison.
The Norwegian Nobel Prize committee praised Liu for his "long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China. The...committee has long believed that there is a close connection between human rights and peace."
The Chinese Government was not as impressed: "Liu Xiaobo is a criminal who has been sentenced by Chinese judicial departments for violating Chinese law....[This award] runs completely counter to the principle of the prize and is also a blasphemy to the peace prize".
This was Liu's statement for his trial: