Jailed Chinese dissident wins Nobel Peace Prize

Chinese dissident, Liu Xiaobo, who is serving an 11 year jail term has been awarded the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize. Making the announcement in Oslo, Nobel Committee president Thorbjoern Jagland said Mr Liu was “the foremost symbol of the wide-ranging struggle for human rights in China”. Mr Liu’s wife hailed the award, calling on Beijing to release her husband. China said the award was contrary to Nobel principles and could damage relations with Norway.

Liu Xiaobo

Mr Jagland admitted he knew the choice would be controversial. He told local television before the announcement: “You’ll understand when you hear the name.”

The Nobel Foundation citation read: “Liu has consistently maintained that the sentence violates both China’s own constitution and fundamental human rights.”

Ending the citation, Mr Jagland said: “The campaign to establish universal human rights in China is being waged by many Chinese, both in China itself and abroad. Through the severe punishment meted out to him, Liu has become the foremost symbol of this wide-ranging struggle for human rights in China.”

No candidates are announced ahead of the Peace Prize but others mentioned in the media included Afghan women’s rights activist Sima Samar, Russian human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina, former German chancellor Helmut Kohl and Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.

The Nobel committee had to defend last year’s controversial Peace Prize choice of US President Barack Obama.

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