Outcry after Chinese dissident gets record 11 years in prison
A supporter of one of China's most prominent dissidents, Liu Xiaobo, is pulled away from journalists outside the courthouse where Liu was sentenced in Beijing yesterday
Saturday December 26 2009
A CHINESE court sentenced a prominent dissident to 11 years yesterday -- the longest term ever handed down for subversion charges.
Rights groups say it signals the government will take an increasingly hard line against activists in the year ahead.
The sentencing of Liu Xiaobo, after he called for sweeping political reforms and an end to Communist Party dominance, also drew diplomatic criticism, with the United States saying it went against international norms.
Appeal
Liu was the co-author of an unusually direct appeal for political liberalisation in China, called Charter 08. He was detained just before it was released last December. More than 300 people, including some of China's top intellectuals, signed it.
The verdict was issued at the No 1 Intermediate People's Court in Beijing after a two-hour trial on Wednesday in which prosecutors accused Liu of "serious" crimes.
The vague charge of 'inciting to subvert state power' is routinely used to jail dissidents. Liu could have been sentenced for up to 15 years in prison under the charge.
A San Francisco-based human rights group, the Dui Hua Foundation, said it was the longest sentence that it knew of, since the crime of inciting subversion was established in 1997.
The state-run Xinhua news agency only reported the news in English -- a sign the government does not want its people to know about Liu's case. Instead, the top Xinhua headline in Chinese declared 2009 a year of "citizens' rights."
The United States and European Union have repeatedly urged Beijing to free Liu.
"We are deeply concerned by the sentence of 11 years in prison," said Gregory May, first secretary with the US Embassy. May was one of a dozen diplomats stopped by authorities from attending the trial and sentencing.
"Persecution of individuals for the peaceful expression of political views is inconsistent with internationally recognised norms of human rights," May said.
Dismayed
German Chancellor Angela Merkel was "dismayed" by Liu's sentence.
"I regret that the Chinese government, despite great progress in other areas, still massively restricts freedom of opinion and of the press," Merkel said.
China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said this week that statements from embassies calling for Liu's release were "a gross interference of China's internal affairs".
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, said the sentence was a setback for Chinese activists.
"Cases such as that of Liu Xiaobo risk not just halting, but seriously reversing that momentum" toward increasing democratic freedoms in China, she said.
- Cara Anna in Beijing
Irish Independent
