Liu Xia, Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Liu Xiaobo’s Wife, Under House Arrest

Human Rights in China (HRIC) has received urgent information from Liu Xia (刘霞), wife of imprisoned 2010 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Liu Xiaobo (刘晓波), that she has been placed under house arrest in Beijing. Liu Xia reported that Beijing municipal state security officers followed her as she returned home from visiting Liu Xiaobo in Jinzhou, Liaoning Province, where he is serving his 11-year prison sentence. Liu Xia reported that her communication has been cut; both her and her brother’s mobile phones have been interfered with (搞坏). The state security officers are not allowing Liu Xia to contact the media and her friends, and she has been told that if she wants to leave her home, she must be escorted in a police car. Her internet connection has also been cut off. Liu Xia requested HRIC to urge the international media to monitor her house arrest situation.

Liu Xia also summarized her visit on October 10 with Liu Xiaobo in prison. The meeting lasted about an hour. Liu Xiaobo told Liu Xia that he already had been informed of the Nobel Peace Prize the day before. When they spoke of the award, he was very serious, saying, “This award is for the lost souls of June Fourth.” He said that it was due to their non-violent spirit in giving their lives for peace, freedom, and democracy; upon finishing, he was moved to tears.

HRIC strongly urges the international community to press the Chinese authorities to immediately release Liu Xia from house arrest, free Liu Xiaobo, and free all prisoners of conscience incarcerated as a result of exercising their right of freedom of expression.

For English translations of Liu Xiabo’s articles and documents relating to his case, see “Freedom of Expression on Trial in China”:

“Inciting Subversion of State Power”?: Six Essays by Liu Xiaobo and Charter 08

• About Liu Xiaobo
• Liu Xiaobo: A Chronology of Activism
• The CPC’s Dictatorial Patriotism
• The Many Aspects of CPC Dictatorship
• Can It Be that the Chinese People Deserve Only “Party-Led Democracy”? 
• Changing the Regime by Changing Society
• The Negative Effects of the Rise of Dictatorship on World Democratization
• Further Questions about Child Slavery in China’s Kilns
• Charter 08

Freedom of Expression on Trial: Liu Xiaobo Legal Case Documents

• Relevant Chinese Law
• Indictment
• Defense Statement of the First Instance
• “My Self-Defense” by Liu Xiaobo, First Instance Trial
• “I Have No Enemies: My Final Statement” by Liu Xiaobo, First Instance Trial
• Criminal Verdict, First Instance Trial
• Defense Statement of the Second Instance
• Appeal Decision

Freedom of Expression across Borders

• Relevant International Human Rights Law
• Václav Havel on Liu Xiaobo, Charter 08, and the Struggle for Democratic Reform: HRIC Interview
• Letter from Liao Yiwu to German Chancellor Angela Merkel
• Letter from Liu Xiaobo to Liao Yiwu
• “To My German Readers” Letter by Liao Yiwu

For more information about Liu Xiaobo, see:

• “Chinese Authorities Restrict Nobel Peace Prize News and Communications with Outside,” October 9, 2010
• “Liu Xiaobo Wins Nobel Peace Prize,” October 8, 2010
• “Court Affirms 11-Year Sentence for Liu Xiaobo against International Appeal for His Release,” February 11, 2010
• “Liu Xiaobo Appeal Charges Court with Abuse of Public Power,” January 29, 2010
• “Václav Havel, in HRIC Interview, Sends Message of Solidarity to Liu Xiaobo and Family,” January 27, 2010
• “International Community Speaks Out on Liu Xiaobo Verdict,” December 30, 2009
• “Liu Xiaobo’s Guilty Verdict and 11-Year Sentence Send Message of Zero Tolerance for Universal Human Rights,” December 25, 2009
• “What Constitutes Liu Xiaobo’s ‘Incitement to Subvert State Power’?,” December 23, 2009
• Ding Zilin, “The Dirtiest of Political Trials,” December 23, 2009
• “Ding Zilin Urges Charter 08 Signers to ‘Join’ Liu Xiaobo’s Trial,” December 18, 2009
• “HRIC Strongly Condemns the Formal Arrest of Liu Xiaobo by Chinese Authorities,” June 24, 2009
• “Chinese Authorities Continue to Suppress Charter 08; Number of Signers Exceeds 7,200,” January 9, 2009
• “Independent Scholars Detained: Start of 2009 Crackdown?,” December 9, 2008
• “Rights Crackdown Intensifies a Month before the Games,” July 8, 2008
• “Chinese Scholars and Activists Demand Equality for Migrant Workers in China,” February 14, 2008