Chinese Nobel winner’s wife under house arrest

The wife of Chinese Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, Liu Xia, has alleged she has been restricted to only her house in China’s capital.

“Brothers, I have returned home. On the 8th (October) they placed me under house arrest. I don’t know when I will be able to see anyone,” she said on a Sunday night posting on her Twitter account, media reports quoted her saying on Monday.

She said she had just returned from visiting her husband in a prison in northeastern China, where she informed Liu of his award, but that she was now being detained incommunicado.

“My mobile phone is broken and I cannot make or receive calls. I saw Xiaobo and told him on the 9th at the prison that he won the prize. I will let you know more later. Everyone, please help me tweet. Thanks,” she said.

Liu Xiaobo, the first Chinese citizen to win the Nobel Peace Prize, is a 54-year-old writer who was imprisoned after authoring Charter 08, a manifesto signed by thousands seeking greater rights in the communist nation. He is serving an 11-year jail sentence for subversion at Jinzhou prison in Liaoning province.