London: The United States and Europe today
criticised a China court's decision to uphold an 11-year jail
sentence on leading dissident Liu Xiaobo.
Washington said the decision on Liu showed Chinese people
suffered "persecution" for expressing their views.
"We are disappointed by the Chinese government's decision
to uphold Liu Xiaobo's sentence of 11 years in prison on the
charge of 'inciting subversion of state power'," US ambassador
Jon Huntsman said.
"We believe that he should not have been sentenced in the
first place and should be released immediately."
He added: "Persecution of individuals for the peaceful
expression of political views is inconsistent with
internationally-recognized norms of human rights."
The appeal by Liu, a writer and one-time professor who
was arrested after co-authoring a manifesto calling for
political reform in China, was rejected by a Beijing court
today.
Britain was "very disappointed" and believes the court's
decision "once again calls into question freedom of expression
in China," a Foreign Office spokesman said.
Germany branded the upholding of the sentence against one
of China's most prominent pro-democracy voices a "political"
move and said it showed that China's leaders were "scared" of
their own people.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, February 11, 2010, 23:21