Liu Xia (53) has been detained under house arrest since 8 October 2010, isolated from the rest of the world. She has been unable to see her family or friends, except when they can convince her guards to be lenient, and she has been denied access to a telephone and the internet. She was arrested two days after her husband, Liu Xiaobo, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He has been arrested and sentenced to 11 years in prison for his dissident writings and for co-authoring the Charter 08.
In January 2014, Liu Xia suffered a heart attack and was brought to the Beijing Shijingshan hospital for treatment. There, doctors recommended a two week observation in the hospital, but police denied her this treatment, returning her to house arrest. On 8 February, Liu Xia was again brought to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed her with a health condition. Her family filled out all the necessary forms and paid for her treatment, but police again reinstated her house arrest. She is now at home with a high fever, and concerns about her physical and mental health are mounting.
In December 2012, the restrictions were lifted slightly, when friends and family were permitted to see her under very strict conditions. But since then, a Hong Kong journalist has been beaten and detained after trying to visit her, and her brother, Liu Hui, was charged with fraud and tried in April 2013, a move Liu Xia believes was politically motivated to increase pressure on the family.
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Provide Liu Xia with immediate access to all necessary medical treatment;
Lift all restrictions on Liu Xia’s freedom of movement and expression.
Dear Director,
I am writing to you to express my support for Liu Xia, who has been unjustly imprisoned since her arrest in 2010, and who recently suffered a heart attack in January 2014. She has been confined to her home and denied access to proper medical care.
Liu Xia is the wife of Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo, who was similarly sentenced unfairly to 11 years in prison in December 2009. Liu Xia has been virtually isolated from the outside world, her relatives, and friends since the beginning of her house arrest, and Amnesty International considers her a prisoner of conscience, unjustly held under house arrest mainly due to the activities of her husband.
I similarly believe that forcing Liu Xia to remain under house arrest is an unjustified effort motivated by the desire to silence civil society activists. Liu has never been accused or convicted, and this has violated her right to a fair trial and freedom of expression.
In light of the above, I urge you to take steps to:
Immediately and unconditionally end Liu Xia’s house arrest;
And provide immediate access to all necessary medical care.
Thank you for the time you will devote to this urgent matter.
Respectfully,
