Beijing (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Liu Xia is free and on her way to Berlin. The news was released by the Chinese CBB and confirmed by her brother Liu Hui on WeChat: his sister left this morning for the German capital to "start a new life".
Liu Xia, a poet and human rights activist, has been under house arrest without formal charges since 2010, when her husband Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Liu Xiaobo died on July 13 last year, left to die of liver cancer while in prison. Her husband's death and prolonged imprisonment exerted a heavy burden on the fragile psychological health of the poet, throwing her into a depression that worried her friends and relatives.
Liu Xia is thought to be on a Finnair flight, landing at 2pm in Finland. Here, the widow of Liu Xiaobo will make a stopover and then take a plane to Germany. Her brother Liu Hui remains in Beijing. According to Albert Ho, a Hong Kong politician, he could be held "hostage" by the Chinese authorities: "They did it to stay to make sure [Liu Xia] would not say anything that exceeds the limit. I'm sure he had to make many promises before they allowed her to leave. "
Her release follows the numerous appeals of activists and intellectuals, and the probable direct intervention of Angela Merkel. These days the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang is visiting Germany, where yesterday he met the Chancellor. During her trip to Beijing, Merkel had raised the issue of human rights and the case of the widow of Liu Xiaobo, also meeting the wives of arrested human rights lawyers.
