154 Nobel Laureates across the six Nobel disciplines urge Chinese President Xi Jinping to allow Nobel Peace Laureate Liu Xiaobo to travel to the U.S. for medical treatment

Jun 29, 2017 | House Arrest of Liu Xia, International Relations, Liu Xiaobo's Case, News, Prisoners of Conscience

FOR IMMEDIATE RELE
154 NOBEL LAUREATES ACROSS THE SIX NOBEL DISCIPLINES URGE CHINESE PRESIDENT XI JINPING TO ALLOW NOBEL PEACE PRIZE LAUREATE LIU XIAOBO AND HIS WIFE LIU XIA TO TRAVEL TO THE UNITED STATES FOR MEDICAL TREATMENT
Washington, D.C.: Today, Freedom Now released a letter (full text and signatories below) just sent by 154 Nobel Laureates to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
The letter states:
“The Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo has been diagnosed with liver cancer. His wife, Liu Xia, who has been under house arrest for almost seven years, is also ill. They have the wish to leave the country so they can receive medical care. Time is running out. We urge the Chinese government on humanitarian grounds to grant Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia’s wish to travel to the United States for medical treatment.”
The letter was also copied to President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, and Ambassador Terry Branstad.
Sir Richard Roberts, 1993 Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, who organized this letter among his fellow Laureates commented: “It is heartbreaking that our fellow Laureate Liu Xiaobo has been diagnosed with terminal liver cancer. We hope that in a spirit of friendship and cooperation that President Xi will allow the Lius to leave China on humanitarian grounds.”
Jared Genser, Founder of Freedom Now and pro bono counsel to the Lius since several months before he won the Nobel Peace Prize added: “I hope that President Xi shows compassion and strength by responding favorably to this extraordinarily distinguished group of Nobel Laureates request that the request of the Lius to travel to the United States for medical treatment are honored.”
Genser published an oped in the Washington Post earlier this week entitled “Dear President Trump: Please Let Liu Xiaobo Die as a Free Man.”  In an editorial, the Washington Post added “Mr. Liu’s case is a signal example of why China lacks the moral capacity to exercise global leadership. By advocating for this dying hero of human rights, Mr. Trump could show that the United States still lives by different values.

Contact:

###