Jailed Chinese dissident and Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo has been diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer and granted medical parole, his lawyer told CNN.
Liu, 61, is being treated at a hospital in Shenyang in northeastern China after receiving the diagnosis in late May. He had been serving an 11-year prison sentence for « inciting subversion of state power » in nearby Jinzhou.
The Ministry of Justice, which oversees the country’s prisons, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nobel peace prize
A prolific writer and longtime activist, Liu had been in and out of jail since the bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters in Tiananmen Square in 1989.
His most recent conviction on Christmas Day 2009 stemmed from his co-authorship of Charter 08, a manifesto calling for political reform and human rights in China.
In 2010, while in prison, Liu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for « his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China. »
An infuriated Beijing tried to censor the news and boycott the award, insisting Liu was a common criminal and that the prize was nothing more than a Western plot against China.
The Communist government also placed Liu’s wife under house arrest, rounded up his supporters and froze diplomatic relations with Norway — where the award was selected and given.
Despite China’s refusal to let Liu or a representative attend the award ceremony, the Nobel peace prize organizers put his citation and medal on an empty chair in a poignant event held in Oslo in December 2010.
