On December 10th, 2010 human rights activist Liu Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace Prize – but his chair is still empty. The Chinese Government would not allow him to go to Oslo to receive the prize, keeping him isolated from the rest of the world.
On December 10th, 2010, at 1:18 PM, human rights activist Liu Xiaobo won the Nobel Peace Prize – but his chair is still empty. The Chinese Government would not allow him to go to Oslo to receive the prize, keeping him isolated from the rest of the world.
Liu XIaobo is in jail since December 2008, yet his arrest was only made official in June 2009 when he was charged of “incitement to subvert the government's power” according to the Chinese government, that consequently sentenced him to 11 years in jail for his commitment in defence of human rights and freedom of the press.
Xiaobo is indeed one of the most involved human right activists in defence of the freedom of expression. He received the prize “Foundation de France” by Reporters without borders in 2008, and is recognise as a founder of Charta 08, a remake of the famous Charta 77 written by the Czechoslovakian dissidents, an appeal written for the 60th anniversary of the Human Rights Declaration, to underline the importance of the freedom of the press, human rights in general and the right to free elections, signed as of today by over 10,000 persons.
When the Nobel jury nominated Liu Xiaobo as the prize winner, the Chinese government, that had previously warmly advised against awarding the Chinese activist, put under house arrest Xiaobo’s wife and other relatives to prevent them from getting in touch with the media.
For this reason, the booster club of the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen memorial issued the "His chair is still empty – Freedom for Liu Xiaobo" campaign for December 10th, 2011, and invites all of us to publish on our organisation’s website or on our Facebook profile a picture of an empty chair in the street, in our office or wherever we will be on December 10th at 1:18 PM. This symbolic act is intended to push the Chinese government for Liu Xiaobo's release.
The photo, that must be posted on the Internet on December 10th at 1:18 PM, should also be sent by e-mail to the address emptychair2010@googlemail.com.
Nobel Peace Prize awarded to China dissident Liu Xiaobo| BBC
