Washington (AsiaNews
/ Agencies ) - The U.S. government "is very concerned" about the
detention of Liu Xiaobo and all other activists "who were only peacefully
exercising their universal right to freedom of expression." For
this reason, Washington urges China "to release Mr. Liu and his wife Liu
Xia , and all others", writes US Secretary of State John Kerry in an official
document released today , on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the
arrest of Liu Xiaobo on charges of "subversion" .
Liu,
who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010, was
arrested on the night of the 8th and 9th of December 2008, immediately
after the first draft of its manifesto for democracy was published online, and sentenced
to 11 years in prison for "inciting subversion
of state power "after he helped in
the drafting of Charter 08 and published several articles about democracy online.
His
wife is under forced house arrest with no conviction and often denied the right
to visit her husband.
Liu
Xiaobo is one of the most enlightened minds of contemporary China. When
he was nominated for the Nobel prize, Liu had already been in prison for two
years (since December 2008) . At
the ceremony to receive the award, December 10, 2010 , there was an empty chair
. The
Chinese government had warned dissidents and friends of the Liu family, against
going to Oslo , refusing to issue passports and promising
economic reprisals on Norway .
In
the document, the U.S. State Department states: " We are deeply concerned
by this situation. We strongly urge Chinese authorities to release Liu Xiaobo,
to end Liu Xia's house arrest, and to guarantee to Liu Xiaobo and his family
members all internationally recognised human rights protections and freedoms. We
continue to believe that respect for international human rights is critical to
China's growth, prosperity, and long-term stability. "