Friends of China's most prominent dissident Liu Xiaobo have accused the Chinese Government of violating human rights after the activist died of multiple organ failures brought on by liver cancer. 61-year-old Liu was a prominent participant in the Tiananmen prodemocracy protests of 1989 and continued to call for political reform with his 2008 charter before being arrested. While in custody in 2010, he won the Nobel Peace Prize which was awarded to an empty chair in his absence

Friends of China’s most famous political prisoner, the Nobel Laureate Liu Xiaobo, have issued a plea to Chinese authorities to be allowed one final audience with the dying activist. The Chinese democracy campaigner, who was diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer in May after more than seven years in prison, appears to be nearing the end of his life. Family friends and doctors said on Thursday the 61-year-old’s condition had worsened and he was close to death. Liu is reportedl

Chinese Nobel Peace Laureate Liu Xiaobo has been released from prison on medical parole after being diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. Liu, 61, was a key leader in the Tiananmen Square protests in 1989. He was arrested in 2008 after penning a prodemocracy manifesto called Charter 08, in which he called for an end to one-party rule and improvements in human rights. Following a year in detention and a two-hour trial, he was sentenced in December 2009 to 11 years in prison f

On December 8, 2008, Liu was arrested, after which he was sentenced to eleven years in prison for “inciting subversion of state power” through his dissident writing and activities. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010, and his wife was put under house arrest by Chinese authorities in response. She continues to be held without trial today. Liu is the only Nobel Peace Prize winner currently in jail. Today, International PEN released a statement signed by Salman Rushdie,