Poet and human rights activist Liu Xiaobo, who was represented by an empty chair at his 2010 Nobel prize ceremony, was detained in 2008 and sentenced to 11 years in prison
Margaret Atwood and Ian Rankin are among high-profile writers who have urged China to release Nobel laureate and poet Liu Xiaobo on the seventh anniversary of his arrest for “inciting subversion of state power”.
The poet and human rights defender was sentenced to 11 years in prison after a long history of dissident writing and peaceful protest. He was initially detained in 2008, as the leading author of Charter ‘08, a manifesto calling for democratic and human rights reform in China. He was later charged in 2009.
Living in relative safety, we try to imagine the cost of speaking out. Liu Xiaobo has put his life on the line.
Related: 'Your Lifelong Prisoner' – Liu Xiaobo's poem from prison
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