One of China's Most Outspoken Dissidents to Be Tried This Week
Liu Xiaobo, one of the most courageous critics of the Beijing regime, will be put to trial on Wednesday, Dec. 23, after lingering in preventive detention for more than a year.
Pro-democracy protesters demand the release of Liu
Xiaobo in Hong-Kong earlier in the year (EPA photo)
His detention on Dec. 8, 2008 came after his participation in the launching of the "Charter 08" dissident movement, which demanded democratic reforms in China.
Liu is charged with "inciting subversion of state power," the judicial weapon the Beijing bosses brandish against those who dare to challenge their authority.
Reuters:
Pleas by the European Union and the United States to release him and to respect his human rights were brushed off by Beijing's Foreign Ministry as interference in China's judiciary.
Liu has been detained twice as long as the law prescribes before notifying the suspect of the charges he is being accused of.
He is no stranger to the regime's prison system. He spent 20 months in jail after he sided with the pro-democracy movement that was crushed in Tiananmen Square in Beijing almost 20 years ago, and was imprisoned again for three years in the 1990’s because of his criticism of the regime.
Pro-democracy protesters demand the release of Liu
Xiaobo in Hong-Kong earlier in the year (EPA photo)
His detention on Dec. 8, 2008 came after his participation in the launching of the "Charter 08" dissident movement, which demanded democratic reforms in China.
Liu is charged with "inciting subversion of state power," the judicial weapon the Beijing bosses brandish against those who dare to challenge their authority.
Reuters:
Liu's lawyer Shang Baojun said on Sunday that a Beijing court had notified him the dissident would be tried on Wednesday. Shang said he had been notified by telephone and was awaiting formal written notice of the precise time of the trial.
Liu Xiaobo's wife Liu Xia said she had also been notified of the impending trial and was sure her husband would fight the charges.
If convicted, the 53-year-old former literature professor could be sentenced to 15 years in prison. Chinese courts come under Communist Party control and rarely reject prosecution accusations, especially in politically sensitive cases.
Liu Xiaobo's wife Liu Xia said she had also been notified of the impending trial and was sure her husband would fight the charges.
If convicted, the 53-year-old former literature professor could be sentenced to 15 years in prison. Chinese courts come under Communist Party control and rarely reject prosecution accusations, especially in politically sensitive cases.
Pleas by the European Union and the United States to release him and to respect his human rights were brushed off by Beijing's Foreign Ministry as interference in China's judiciary.
Liu has been detained twice as long as the law prescribes before notifying the suspect of the charges he is being accused of.
He is no stranger to the regime's prison system. He spent 20 months in jail after he sided with the pro-democracy movement that was crushed in Tiananmen Square in Beijing almost 20 years ago, and was imprisoned again for three years in the 1990’s because of his criticism of the regime.
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