Nobel Peace Prize Winner’s Wife Detained in China

Added by James Morley on October 11, 2010

A U.S. human rights group stated that the wife of Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Peace Prize winner, was detained by Chinese authorities in her home not being allowed to leave the premises. Liu Xiaobo is also an imprisoned Chinese anarchist who has received the peace Nobel Prize this year.

Liu Xia, wife to the imprisoned man, is being held in her home and is disallowed from any outside contact via mobile phone or otherwise. She is however not charged with any crime. This comes after she went to jail to see her husband to tell him about the award.

The human rights group said that Xiaobo wept when he heard of the award and said that it belongs to those who died during the protests in Tiananmen. The group provides free advice to prisoners of conscience and aids in their release.

Yang Jianli who is the group’s human rights specialist said that Liu Xia was under pressure from all that was happening. She also said that they could not disclose the source of the news of her detaining over fears of the source being detained too.

The Nobel Peace award came after two years of Xiaobo’s non-violent protests over rights.