MCLC: Liu Xia to sue Beijing authorities

[Denton, Kirk]

MCLC LIST
From: kirk (denton.2 at osu.edu)
Subject: Liu Xia to sue Beijing authorities
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Source: The Guardian (6/21/13):
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/21/liu-xiaobo-wife-sue-beijing-aut
horities-chinese-dissident

Liu Xiaobo's wife to sue Beijing authorities
Chinese dissident's wife, Liu Xia, mounts legal challenge over house
arrest and husband and brother's 11-year jail term
By Associated Press in Beijing

The wife of the Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo is preparing a legal
challenge against authorities after her husband and brother were jailed
for 11 years and she was made a prisoner in her home.

Lawyers representing Liu Xia said she would sue Beijing police for illegal
house arrest and prepare a petition for her husband's subversion case to
be retried.

Her brother, Liu Hui, has filed an appeal against the 11-year prison
sentence handed down to him this month for fraud. He was jailed over a
real-estate dispute, and the family's supporters say his sentence is
further punishment of the Nobel peace prizewinner's family and an attempt
to intimidate fellow activists.

Shang Baojun, one of Liu Xia's lawyers, said her decision to pursue legal
action was driven by her frustration over the way authorities had treated
her family, and that her brother's conviction in particular had led her to
speak out.

"Her biggest worry at the moment is her brother. She feels guilty for
causing such huge trouble and negative influence to his family," he said.
"She says would do anything to alleviate her brother's suffering."

The move marks the latest step by Liu Xia to challenge the alleged
persecution of her family. A week ago, her lawyers released an open letter
she wrote to the Chinese premier, Xi Jinping, to protest against her
brother's sentence.

Since her house arrest Liu Xia has had few opportunities to express
herself amid fears of further retaliation. She was permitted a rare
opportunity to leave her flat on Thursday to speak to her lawyers, handing
them a letter authorising them to prepare a legal petition for her
husband's case be reopened, Shang said.

She also gave her legal team a separate letter entrusting them to
represent her in suing the Beijing police for keeping her under house
arrest since her husband won the Nobel prize in 2010.

Liu Xiaobo was jailed on subversion charges brought after he called for
sweeping changes to Beijing's one-party communist political system. He was
convicted in 2009 and a court dismissed his appeal in early 2010.

In 2010, the Nobel committee awarded the peace prize to Liu Xiaobo,
infuriating the Chinese government, which denounced the accolade, called
him a criminal and locked up his wife in her home.