On June 8, a court in suburban Beijing sentenced Liu Xiaobo’s brother-in-law Liu Hui to 11 years in prison for fraud, in a case some fear is a “warning to the whole family.” From Isolda Morillo at the Associated Press:
“This is damaging to my whole family,” said Liu’s sister and the wife of the imprisoned Nobel laureate, Liu Xia, who was allowed to leave the Beijing apartment where she has been confined to attend the hearing. Crying, she criticized the authorities for being unscrupulous in persecuting the family: “Look at this situation. There’s no bottom line.”
[…] The 11-year sentence for a business dispute is harsh even by Chinese standards and matches the 11 years Liu Xiaobo is currently serving for authoring a programmatic call for democracy. Fraud is usually punishable by up to 10 years in jail, though judges — who answer to the ruling Communist Party — have discretion to issue longer terms for egregious cases.
[…] The arrest of her brother, Liu Hui, in February was seen as retaliation against Liu Xia after she twice spoke out — once to reporters for The Associated Press and once to other activists who managed to sneak past security and visit her apartment. [Source]
See more on the Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo via CDT.
