China: Dissident Liu Xiaobo's widow arrives in Berlin

The widow of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo arrived in Berlin on Tuesday, finding freedom eight years after her husband was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, which has resulted in her being held under house arrest. 19659003] The plane with Liu Xia, who was never convicted for any reason, landed shortly before 3:00 pm GMT at Berlin's Tegel Airport, almost a year to the day after Liu Xiaobo's death , July 13, 2017, shortly after her release from prison.

This 57-year-old woman then engulfed herself in a van waiting for her on the tarmac, without making any statements, according to AFP journalists on

Among the people who welcomed him at the airport were Chinese writer-in-exile Liao Yiwu and 2009 Nobel Literature Prize winner Herta Müller of Germany, according to the same source. [19659003] The short-haired poetess, who had made bri in Helsinki, wanted to travel to the German capital for several years to find relatives.

The spokesman of the US State Department, Heather Nauert, greeted in a tweet the permission given by Beijing Liu Xia to leave the country and "urged China to release all prisoners of conscience and respect the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all."

Beijing had confirmed his departure from China, stating that Ms. Liu went to Germany to undergo "medical treatment". According to relatives, she suffers from a severe depression.

Her husband Liu Xiaobo, the figure of Tiananmen demonstrations for democracy, was sentenced in 2009 to 11 years in prison for "subversion" for having co-signed an appeal for of free elections in China.

The communist regime had taken Liu Xiaobo's Nobel Peace Prize very badly the following year and rejected Western calls for his release, including when the dissident was diagnosed with cancer. liver in 2017.

Hospitalized but prevented from leaving China to be treated abroad, Liu Xiaobo died on July 13, 2017 at the age of 61 in a Chinese hospital, a few weeks after being released conditional for health reasons. He was 61.

False hopes

Ms. Liu has since remained under very close surveillance. The Chinese authorities said she was free, but foreign journalists and diplomats were turned back when they tried to approach her Beijing home.

After a year of false hopes for a release soon, Liu Xia said finally obtained a pbadport last week, told AFP one of his relatives who requested anonymity.

"I hope that Liu Xia can find peace and health in Germany," said the top Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, who described his situation as "tragic"

His arrival in Germany comes after a meeting between Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin

Ms. Merkel, who has several times publicly raised the issue of human rights in China, apparently raised the case of Liu Xia during a trip to Beijing last May, during which e She has met wives of imprisoned lawyers.

Merkel's visit to Beijing was "clearly decisive," said the relative.

The approach of the first anniversary of Liu Xiaobo's death also seems directly related to the liberation of his widow.

Question of image

"The Chinese government may have understood that keeping it under house arrest gave Chinese people a mean, cruel and vindictive image," observes Elaine Pearson of Human Rights Watch

Beijing may also seek to appease Europeans before a China-EU summit next week in Beijing.

"It's a question of image for China when it is engaged in a trade war with the United States," notes a Western diplomat.

But it should not be concluded that the situation human rights in China is improving. "We find that it's getting worse," he adds.

Nothing suggested a sudden departure from the widow of the dissident. On Monday, the building where she lived was still under the supervision of several guards.

Despite the increased security, AFP could meet her in her apartment, but she refused any interview, saying she feared measures retaliation against his brother, who is not allowed to leave China.

11/07/2018 03:32:11 –
Berlin (AFP) –
© 2018 AFP