IMPRISONED CHINESE DISSIDENT Liu Xiaobo has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in his absence.
The BBC reports that Nobel chairman Thorbjorn Jagland paid tribute to Liu, saying the fact that he is in prison in China “shows that the award was necessary and appropriate”.
Almost a third of the 50 countries invited to the Nobel ceremony declined to attend, including Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran,Venezuela, Cuba and Pakistan.
Liu, a 54-year-old literary critic, is serving an 11-year prison sentence on charges of subversion.
China has strongly condemned the awarding of the prize to Liu.
At the ceremony, Norwegian actor Liv Ullmann read out an address he made during his trial for subversion a year ago:
I, filled with optimism, look forward to the advent of a future, free China. For there is no force that can put an end to the human quest for freedom.
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