RantCrush Top 5: June 26, 2017

Liu Xiaobo–a Chinese human rights activist and academic who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010–has been granted medical parole after he was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. Liu was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2009 for “incitement to subvert state power.” He had co-authored a manifesto that called for the end of a one-party government in China. He won the Nobel Peace Prize the next year and was represented at the award ceremony by an empty chair. His wife has been under house arrest since then, with government officials controlling her every move.

Now that Liu has a terminal disease, he is allowed to get medical help outside of prison. But that doesn’t mean he is a free man. “It adds insult to injury that Liu Xiaobo, who should never have been put in prison in the first place, has been diagnosed with a grave illness,” Amnesty International said in a statement. The statement also called for the Chinese government to release Liu, his wife, and other imprisoned activists.

Statement from the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Liu Xiaobo’s release.
“A mixture of relief and deep worry”. https://t.co/vM44bmHRYd pic.twitter.com/IJvhdvYS6h

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) June 26, 2017

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.