Liu Xiaobo - China
Following the sentencing of Chinese writer, academic and honorary ICPC President, Liu Xiaobo, to eleven years' imprisonment , Sydney PEN has called for the federal government to speak out against this oppression of freedom of speech.
Sydney PEN is shocked and dismayed by the sentencing of dissident Chinese writer and academic Liu Xiaobo to 11 years imprisonment on charges of “subverting state power”. The trial was held on December 23, 2009 in Beijing, following Liu’s detention late last year. The trial concluded until Friday, December 25 without providing a verdict. Liu was detained shortly before the publication of Charter 08, a petition which he co-wrote and which was signed by numerous Chinese intellectuals and writers in December 2008 calling for political reforms, including an end to the Communist Party’s single-party rule.
Since Liu’s detention, Sydney PEN has joined International PEN, Independent Chinese PEN Centre (ICPC) and other PEN centres in the region and worldwide in publicly protesting the charges against him. The American government and the United Nations joined hundreds of international writers in the movement in favour of Liu’s release. Liu Xiaobo is one of the Honorary Members of Sydney PEN. On 11 February 2010 it was reported that his appeal against an 11-year sentence had been rejected by a Beijing court. PEN continues to demand his immediate and unconditional release.
Send a message to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd about the need to speak out about Liu Xiaobo’s case – download our campaign letter released in February.