Wife of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo ‘feels like she is serving a life sentence’ for ‘crime’ of loving Nobel Peace Prize winner
Latest recording of Liu Xia, whose husband died in jail, was released by friend campaigning for authorities to end de facto house arrest
Liu Xia, widow of dissident Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, has said she felt that loving her husband was a “crime” for which she had received a “life sentence”, according to an audio recording released on Friday.
Liu Xia, 57, has been under de facto house arrest – despite facing no charges – ever since her husband was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010, in a move that angered Beijing.
Liu Xiaobo, a veteran of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, died last year while serving an 11-year jail sentence for “subversion”, making him the first Nobel laureate to die in custody since the era of Nazi Germany.
Liu Xia faces daily restrictions on movement and surveillance, although the Chinese authorities maintain she is free.
In an emotional phone call with her close friend Chinese writer Liao Yiwu last week, Liu Xia said, “they should add a line to the constitution: ‘Loving Liu Xiaobo is a serious crime – it’s a life sentence’”.