Chinese Nobel laureate Xiaobo dies in custody

China's Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo died yesterday after a battle with cancer, remaining in custody until the end as officials rebuffed international pleas to let the prominent dissident receive treatment abroad, reports AFP.

The veteran of the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests died aged 61, more than a month after he was transferred from prison to a heavily-guarded hospital to be treated for late-stage liver cancer. Liu's death puts China in dubious company as he became the first Nobel Peace Prize laureate to die in custody since German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky, who passed away in a hospital while held by the Nazis in 1938.

International tributes poured in as Germany, which had offered to treat him, called him a "hero" of democracy. Human rights groups accused President Xi Jinping's government of

"cruelty". "We find it deeply disturbing that Liu Xiaobo was not transferred to a facility where he could receive adequate medical treatment before he became terminally ill," the Nobel Committee said in a statement.

"The Chinese government bears a heavy responsibility for his premature death."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was deeply saddened by the death of Liu Xiaobo but refrained from criticizing China for refusing to allow the Nobel laureate to receive treatment abroad.

Guterres was "deeply saddened" to learn of Liu's death and "extends his condolences to his family and his friends," said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric.

Asked about China's refusal to allow Liu to seek treatment abroad and concerns about the well-being of his widow, poet Liu Xia, who has been under house arrest, the UN spokesman said, "I don't have anything further to say at this point."

In contrast to Guterres, UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein described Liu as "China's iconic peace and democracy figure" and urged Beijing to allow Liu Xia to travel.

The legal bureau in the northeastern city of Shenyang said on its website that Liu succumbed to multiple organ failure, three days after being taken into intensive care at the First Hospital of China Medical University. The official Xinhua news agency, which had not mentioned his hospitalisation, reported his death in English.

Shortly after the announcement, the street in front of the hospital was nearly empty, with a dozen plainclothes men standing guard just outside a gate.

The writer's death silences a government critic who had been a thorn in the side of the authorities for decades and became a symbol of Beijing's growing crackdown on dissenting voices.

Chinese Nobel laureate Xiaobo dies in custody

Chinas Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo died yesterday after a battle with cancer, remaining in custody until the end as officials rebuffed international pleas to let the prominent dissident receive treatment abroad, reports AFP. The veteran of the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests died aged 61, more than a month after he was transferred from prison to a heavily-guarded hospital to be treated for late-stage liver cancer. Lius death puts China in dubious company as he became the first Nobel Peace Prize laureate to die in custody since German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky, who passed away in a hospital while held by the Nazis in 1938. International tributes poured in as Germany, which had offered to treat him, called him a hero of democracy. Human rights groups accused President Xi Jinpings government of cruelty. We find it deeply disturbing that Liu Xiaobo was not transferred to a facility where he could receive adequate medical treatment before he became terminally ill, the Nobel Committee said in a statement. The Chinese government bears a heavy responsibility for his premature death. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was deeply saddened by the death of Liu Xiaobo but refrained from criticizing China for refusing to allow the Nobel laureate to receive treatment abroad. Guterres was deeply saddened to learn of Lius death and extends his condolences to his family and his friends, said UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric. Asked about Chinas refusal to allow Liu to seek treatment abroad and concerns about the well-being of his widow, poet Liu Xia, who has been under house arrest, the UN spokesman said, I dont have anything further to say at this point. In contrast to Guterres, UN human rights chief Zeid Raad Al Hussein described Liu as Chinas iconic peace and democracy figure and urged Beijing to allow Liu Xia to travel. The legal bureau in the northeastern city of Shenyang said on its website that Liu succumbed to multiple organ failure, three days after being taken into intensive care at the First Hospital of China Medical University. The official Xinhua news agency, which had not mentioned his hospitalisation, reported his death in English. Shortly after the announcement, the street in front of the hospital was nearly empty, with a dozen plainclothes men standing guard just outside a gate. The writers death silences a government critic who had been a thorn in the side of the authorities for decades and became a symbol of Beijings growing crackdown on dissenting voices.