Liu Xiaobo
Liu Xiaobo was a Chinese literary critic, writer, professor, and human rights activist. He was a prominent figure in the Chinese democracy movement and played a significant role in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests. In 2010, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for “his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China.” He was arrested in December 2008 and sentenced in December 2009 to 11 years in prison for inciting subversion of state power, largely due to his involvement in drafting Charter 08, a manifesto calling for political reform in China based on the principles of human rights, freedom, and democracy. In May 2011, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found his detention arbitrary and in violation of international law. Sadly, he died in 2017 of liver cancer while still in custody.
Liu Xia
Liu Xia is a poet, artist, and intellectual. She was married to Liu Xiaobo, the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize winner and co-author of Charter 08. After her husband was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the Chinese government quickly moved to isolate Liu Xia from the outside world, placing her under house arrest without charging her with a crime. In May 2011, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found her detention arbitrary and in violation of international law. On July 10, 2018, after 7.5 years of such detention, she was finally allowed to leave the country.