China's Nobel peace prize laureate Liu Xiaobo has been transferred on parole from prison to a hospital for terminal cancer treatment, his lawyer said today, but concerned supporters called for his unconditional release.
Liu, who has about three years of his 11-year sentence to serve, was diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer on May 23 and granted medical parole days later, lawyer Mo Shaoping told AFP. The 61-year-old democracy campaigner was being treated at a hospital in the northeastern city of Shenyang, capital of Liaoning province, where he was imprisoned.
The Liaoning Prison Administrative Bureau confirmed Liu's parole, saying in a statement he was being treated by "eight renowned Chinese oncologists" at China Medical University No 1 Hospital. While it confirmed he was being treated for liver cancer, it did not say whether it was terminal. "He has no special plans. He is just receiving medical treatment for his illness," Mo said.
The writer was sentenced in 2009 for "subversion" after spearheading a bold petition for democratic reforms. He was awarded the Nobel prize while in jail a year later and was represented by an empty chair at the ceremony in Oslo.
Supporters demanded that Liu be granted the best medical care .While the Nobel Committee said it was "delighted" to learn that Liu was finally freed, it "strongly regrets that it took serious illness before Chinese authorities were willing to release him from jail". "Chinese authorities carry a heavy responsibility if Liu Xiaobo, because of his imprisonment, has been denied necessary treatment," it said in a statement.