sentence court sneakily issued verdict Dec 25th
http://bit.ly/8U1nxG
[excerpt]
Eleven-year jail sentence for free speech activist Liu Xiaobo, court
sneakily issues verdict on Christmas Day
"It is a disgrace that Liu Xiaobo is going to spend the next eleven years
in prison when all he did was defend free expression and participate in a
debate about his country's future with many other Chinese intellectuals,"
Reporters Without Borders said. "It is also disgraceful that such a
sentence was announced on Christmas Day."
The press freedom organisation added: "Where are the universal values of
freedom of expression that China is supposed to represent in Shanghai in
2010? The national and international pressure for this famous dissident's
release must be redoubled. The international community must not be
manipulated by the Chinese authorities, who are trying to minimise
reaction by concluding this case during the end-of-year holidays."
[...]
A former University of Beijing philosophy professor and winner of the
Reporters Without Borders press freedom prize in 2004, Liu is committed to
the idea that the Chinese media will one day be able to operate as a real
fourth estate and stand up to the omnipotent Communist Party. [...]
