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Lawyer: Chinese Nobel Laureate's Liberty Still Restricted Despite Medical Parole

© AFP 2023 / ODD ANDERSENThis file photo taken on December 10, 2010 shows Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann (L) reading Liu Xiaobo's text "I have no enemies" next to the The Nobel Peace Prize committee Chairman Thorbjoern Jagland (R) sitting next to an empty chair during the ceremony for the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo (displayed at C) at the city hall in Oslo, on December 10, 2010
This file photo taken on December 10, 2010 shows Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann (L) reading Liu Xiaobo's text I have no enemies next to the The Nobel Peace Prize committee Chairman Thorbjoern Jagland (R) sitting next to an empty chair during the ceremony for the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo (displayed at C) at the city hall in Oslo, on December 10, 2010 - Sputnik International
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The liberty of Liu Xiaobo, the Chinese dissident who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 for promoting democracy in China, is still restricted, as the medical parole he was granted to seek treatment for late-stage liver cancer is just another form of confinement, one of his lawyers told Sputnik on Monday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Liu was tried for "inciting subversion of state power" in 2009, a year after publishing the Charter 08 manifesto calling for overhauling democratic reforms in China. He was subsequently convicted and sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010, triggering a massive diplomatic row between China and Norway, which handed out the Nobel award to Liu and honored him with an empty chair during the award ceremony.

"Strictly speaking, Liu Xiaobo is still under the control of the Chinese government, as medical parole is just a different form of serving your prison sentence," Mo Shaoping, one of the lawyers who defended Liu during his trial in 2009, said, adding that under Chinese law, medical parole is simply another form of serving one’s prison sentence if the prison does not have sufficient facility to treat the inmate’s illness.

This file photo taken on December 10, 2010 shows Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann (L) reading Liu Xiaobo's text I have no enemies next to the The Nobel Peace Prize committee Chairman Thorbjoern Jagland (R) sitting next to an empty chair during the ceremony for the Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo (displayed at C) at the city hall in Oslo, on December 10, 2010 - Sputnik International
Norway, China to Restore Ties After 2010 Row Over Nobel Prize for Liu Xiaobo
According to Mo, Liu showed symptoms of the disease on May 23 and was then diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer. Appropriate procedures for medical parole were completed last week, allowing Liu to be transferred out of the prison to receive the necessary treatment in a hospital in northern China’s Shenyang city in Liaoning province, which is about 140 miles away from his prison.

Liu’s family members were allowed to visit him as recently as 10 days ago and confirmed that Liu was in stable condition, the lawyer said.

Mo refused to comment on whether Liu would eventually be allowed to leave China to seek cancer treatment overseas. Mo has not visited Liu in the hospital, because of a deal he made with Chinese authorities to not represent the dissident further after defending him during his appeal.

Liu’s prison term is expected to be completed by 2020.

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