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International PEN is outraged by the charges brought against Liu Xiaobo
World Writers‘ Association outraged by the charges brought against Liu Xiaobo, dissident writer and former President of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre.
Before you enter the grave
Don't forget to write me with your ashes
Do not forget to leave your address in the nether world
From a poem by Liu Xiaobo.
International PEN, the world association of writers, is outraged by the charges of ‘incitement to subversion of state power' brought against prominent dissident writer Liu Xiaobo, former President and Board member of Independent Chinese PEN Centre, on 23 June 2009. Liu Xiaobo was arrested on 8 December 2008 for his role in publishing Charter 08, a document calling for political reform and human rights. Many other signatories of the Charter have been harassed or briefly detained, and there are growing concerns about reports that other members of Independent Chinese PEN Centre based in the P.R.China have been under increased pressure in recent days.
According to PEN’s information, police from the Beijing Public Security Bureau (PS
National Security Unit delivered Liu Xiaobo's formal arrest notice dated June 23 to his wife, Liu Xia, on 24 June 2009. According to the official Xinhua news agency, he is accused of ‘spreading rumours and defaming the government, aimed at subversion of the state and overthrowing the socialism system in recent years'. The charge carries a maximum five-year prison sentence, and is believed to be based on his endorsement of Charter 08 and over twenty articles published between 2001-2008. He is said to have confessed to the charges against him.
After his arrest on 8 December 2008, Liu Xiaobo was held under ‘residential surveillance', a form of pre-trial detention, at an undisclosed location in Beijing, without access to his lawyer. He was allowed only two family visits throughout his six-month detention, in January and in March, and was held in a windowless room without any outdoor time. His lawyer Mo Shaoping has been barred from representing Liu due to his endorsement of Charter 08, therefore two other members of Mo’s law firm have been nominated to represent him. Liu Xiaobo was reportedly transferred to the Public Security Bureau (PS Detention Centre in Douge Zhuang, Beijing, on 23 June 2009, where he reports “an improvement” in his conditions since he now has regular outdoor time and five detainees in his cell with whom he can talk. He was allowed to meet with his lawyers on 26 June 2009.
Liu Xiaobo is among a large number of dissidents to have been detained or harassed since December 2008 after issuing an open letter calling on the National People's Congress Standing Committee to ratify the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and launching Charter 08, a declaration calling for political reforms and human rights published on 9 December 2008. These activities were part of campaigns to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (10 December), and were initially signed by over 300 scholars, journalists, freelance writers and activists and now have over 8000 signatories from throughout China.
Liu Xiaobo first received support from PEN 20 years ago, when, in 1989, he was one of a group of writers and intellectuals given the label the “Black Hands of Beijing” by the government, and arrested for their part in the Tiananmen Square protests. Liu has since spent a total of five years in prison, including a three year sentence passed in 1996, and he has suffered frequent short arrests, harassment and censorship. He is among over forty writers detained today in the People's Republic of China for the peaceful expression of their opinions. International PEN demands the immediate and unconditional release of dissident writer Liu Xiaobo and all those detained in China for the peaceful exercise of their opinions, in accordance with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which China is a signatory.
On behalf of the Board of International PEN
Jirí Gruša - International President
Eugene Schoulgin - International Secretary
Karin Clark – Writers in Prison Committee Chair
Vice-Presidents of International PEN
Margaret Atwood
J. M. Coetzee
Moris Farhi
Nadine Gordimer
Gloria Guardia
Lucina Kathman
Kata Kulavkova
Joanne Leedom-Ackerman
Mario Vargas Llosa
Per Wästberg
For further information please contact Cathy McCann at International PEN Writers in Prison Committee, Brownlow House, 50/51 High Holborn, London WC1V 6ER, Tel.+ 44 (0) 20 7405 0338, Fax: +44 (0) 20 7405 0339, email: cathy.mccann@internationalpen.org.uk
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Welcome to the Free the Word! Book Club
Have you ever wandered into a book shop and wondered where to begin?
Has a friend ever recommended you a book you've enjoyed so much you've wondered what else you are missing out on?
Then the Free the Word! World Book Club is for you!
The Free the Word! Book Club is for anyone who wants to read the very best in contemporary world literature. Free the Word! celebrates 'the great writers you know and the great writers you don't' and gives you unique insights into some of the most eminent voices from around the world whom you might not otherwise read, or hear.
On the first Monday of every month, a new book featured in Free the Word! festival events around the world is launched online with insights from the author, translator, or another eminent figure from the field of international literature in English, French and Spanish.
There are links to recordings of Free the Word! events which featured the text and the opportunity to join a global community of Free the Word! World Book Club members discussing the books online.
If a book catches your interest you can purchase it through the link to our book shop partner, Foyles. There is no membership fee and no obligation, simply join the World Book Club members as and when you want to. All past featured text materials will remain accessible on the site so you will continue to be able to access them even once a new book of the month has been launched.
With 144 Centres in 102 countries worldwide, International PEN has a unique grass roots knowledge of world literature and is the ideal guide to the best in contemporary writing.
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PEN International Magazine
'For anyone who believes that words can help us chart a path, PEN International is essential reading' Alberto Manguel
'Reading in the pages of PEN International we celebrate not just our differences but also our common humanity and universal values' Azar Nafisi
PEN International addresses a global audience and features original work by contemporary writers from around the world.
Founded in 1950, the magazine was originally a compendium of reviews of world literature entitled ‘Bulletin of Selected Books'. Over the years, it was expanded to include articles, stories and poems either contributed directly or reprinted from other publications.
The magazine is read by the 144 PEN Centres in 102 countries, as well as readers all over the world.
In 2007, PEN International was relaunched with the ‘Context:' series, featuring a new design, a dedicated editor and special guest writers. ‘Context:' showcases writing from different regions of the world with the express goal of introducing the work of new and established writers to each other and to readers everywhere. It has so far covered Africa and the Middle East. ‘Context: Latin America' will appear in autumn 2008 and ‘Context: Asia/Pacific' in 2009. A special issue will be published in spring 2008 called ‘The Writer Next Door', and will be dedicated to International PEN's annual literary theme of the same name.
Contributors to PEN International have included Adonis, Margaret Atwood, Karel Capek, Siobhan Dowd, Nawal El-Saadawi, Moris Farhi, Antonia Fraser, Nadine Gordimer, Günter Grass, Han Suyin, Liu Hongbin, Chenjerai Hove, Alberto Manguel, Salim Matar, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Ben Okri, Moniro Ravanipour, Salman Rushdie, Wole Soyinka, Hilary Spurling and many others. Previous editors have included Alexandre Blokh and Per Wästberg.
PEN International is supported by UNESCO, the Sigrid Rausing Trust, Bloomberg and an anonymous donor.
