Worldwide protest of Chinese poet Liu Xiaobo’s incarceration

February 22, 2012 Liu Xiaobo, Chinese poet and activist, is currently on the third year of an 11-year sentence for the content of his prose and poems, which were judged by his government to be subversive to his country and its authority. He was taken from his home in Bejing in 2008, and detained without formal sentencing for 12 months before finally being sent to Jinzhou Prison in the Liaoning Province, where he is currently incarcerated.

This is not the first time Liu has been imprisoned for his writing – he was also jailed in 1989, 1995, and 1996, for lengths of time varying from six months to three years.

Liu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 “for his long and non-violent struggle for fundamental human rights in China”. Neither he nor his family could accept this award, as he was already in detention at the time, and the Chinese authorities would not allow his family to attend the awards ceremony.

The International Literature Festival in Berlin has called for a worldwide reading of Liu's work on 20 March 2012, drawing attention to his imprisonment, but also his message. With this protest they hope to raise awareness of his status as a political prisoner.

A number of organisations and individuals are already participating. Using this list you can find an event near you.

Please note that this list was last updated on 14 February 2012. To see a more recent list, or to participate in the reading yourself, visit the ILB website using the above link, where more information can be found in both English and German. You can also e-mail them at worldwidereading@literaturfestival.com. Translations of the texts intended to be read on the occasion are available in Chinese, Japanese, Korean, English, French, German, Italian  and Spanish.