Chinese media says dissident Liu Xiaobo arrested

The Associated Press ,  Beijing   |  Wed, 06/24/2009 11:11 AM  |  World

Prominent dissident Liu Xiaobo, who co-authored a manifesto calling for sweeping reforms to China's rigid political system, has been arrested for attempting to overthrow the country's socialist system, state media said Wednesday.

Liu has been in police custody since they took him away on Dec. 8, a day before the political document was released.

"Liu has been engaged in agitation activities, such as the spreading of rumors and defaming of the government, aimed at subversion of the state and overthrowing the socialism system in recent years," Xinhua News Agency quoted a Beijing police statement as saying.

It gave no other details. Liu's lawyer Mo Shaoping said he has not been informed officially of the charges.

China has always reacted sharply to any challenges to its one-party system, but is also cracking down on any dissent ahead of a gala celebrating the communist regime's 60th anniversary on Oct. 1.

Earlier this month, the leader of the U.S. House of Representatives, Democrat Nancy Pelosi, called for Liu's "immediate and unconditional release." Last month, Pelosi wrote a letter to Chinese President Hu Jintao also asking that Liu and other Chinese "prisoners of conscience" be released.

Liu, 53, is a former university professor who spent 20 months in jail for joining the 1989 student-led protests in Tiananmen Square.

In his writings, most published only on the Internet, Liu has called for civil rights and political reform, making him subject to routine harassment by authorities.

He was among more than 300 lawyers, writers, scholars and artists who signed "Charter 08" in December calling for a new constitution guaranteeing human rights, election of public officials, freedom of religion and expression, and an end to the Communist Party's hold over the military, courts and government. It also calls for the abolition of the criminal code that allows people to be imprisoned for "incitement to subvert state power."

Police detained Liu a day ahead of the charter's release, possibly because they considered him a key organizer, in addition to his role in drafting and revising the document, Mo has said.
   

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