Liu Xiaobo still hidden behind veil of silence two years after Nobel Prize
Writer remains in jail, but little else is known about his condition two years after Nobel Prize
Two years after his Nobel Peace Prize, Liu Xiaobo remains imprisoned, relatives are under house arrest or cowed into silence and, supporters say, the democratic change he sought seems further away than ever.
As the Nobel committee in Oslo prepares to award this year's prestigious prize today, the dissident writer remains the world's only jailed Nobel peace laureate, with more than seven years left to go of a sentence for subversion.
The Information Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, a Hong Kong-based rights group, said yesterday that Liu's elder and younger brothers, Xiaoguang and Xiaoxuan, had visited Liu at his prison in Jinzhou, Liaoning province, on September 26, the first time since the three had met last September.
If [Liu Yunshan] will oversee ideology... China will enter... darkness
Citing Liu Xiaoguang, the group said Liu's heath and spirit appeared good.
But Liu's wife, Liu Xia, remains under house arrest at their home in Beijing to prevent her speaking about her husband's case, while his brothers continue to decline media interviews for fear of losing their occasional visitation rights to him.
"I don't have any information about Liu Xiaobo and I have been unable to reach Liu Xia," said Dai Qing, a fellow activist who is close to the couple.
Liu, who was jailed previously for his involvement in the 1989 Tiananmen protests, was sentenced in 2009 to 11 years' jail for "attempted subversion of power" after co-authoring a bold manifesto for democracy.
