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.