According to Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) the Beijing Upper Court refused to grant Liu Xiaobo's request for an appeal hearing. Liu, a prominent Chinese dissident and principal author of "Charter '08", was sentenced to 11 years in jail on December 25 for "inciting subversion of state power". "Charter '08," a public appeal calling for bold reforms that promote democracy and human rights in China, was published via the Internet in December 2008; Liu was arrested for posting the appeal that same month. He was detained for over a year awaiting his trial.
Vaclav Havel, a former dissident I Czechoslovakia and first president of the Czech Republic (1993-2003), expressed strong solidarity and sympathy with Liu Xiaobo in a recent interview with Sharon Hom, executive director of Human Rights in China and World Movement participant. Havel said: "It's incumbent upon us, who have lived through those times and those experiences ... to be among the first ones to show solidarity with those who are persecuted for the same reasons." Havel emphasized that solidarity can send a clear message to the Chinese government that "it can't just do whatever it wishes."
[ Appeal (in Chinese) ] [ Sharon Hom's interview with Vaclav Havel ] [ Charter ’08 ]
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