Jailed Liu Xiaobo awarded Nobel Peace Prize

10/12/10 14:43 CET

world news

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The Nobel Peace Prize 2010 has been awarded to Liu Xiaobo in his absence.

The Chinese dissident is serving an 11-year jail sentence for subversive behaviour. The 54-year old has spent more than two decades campaigning for improved human rights and political reform in China.

He has dedicated the award to the victims of the crackdown on protests at Tiananmen Square in 1989, a movement of which he was a prominent leader.

China boycotted the ceremony in Oslo, angry that a man it sees as a criminal has been rewarded by the Nobel Committee. Seventeen other countries including Russia, Iran and Pakistan also turned down their invitations. Some of them said they did so in support of China, while others offered no reason.

More about: Liu Xiaobo, Nobel Prize, Norway

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