China frees dissident Nobel Peace laureate's widow Liu Xia
Beijing, July 10 : After seven years of house arrest, Liu Xia, the widow of activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo, on Tuesday left for Germany.
Liu Xia had been under house arrest since 2010 when her late husband was awarded the top peace prize while serving his sentence for "anti-China" activities.
He died of cancer in 2017, becoming the first Nobel Peace Prize winner in custody since German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky in 1938.
Liu Xia took a plane to Berlin at 11 a.m., family friends said. She has never been charged with any crime but said in May that she was ready to die in protest over her continued detention.
The Chinese Foreign Ministry, which was cagey about the details and reasons for freeing Liu Xia, said the 57-year-old poet left for Germany for treatment of her own volition.
"I should say Liu Xia travelled to Germany for medical treatment in accordance with her own will," Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said.
Her husband, a university professor turned human rights campaigner, was jailed in 2009 on charges of inciting subversion.
He died of liver cancer in 2017 and his ashes were scattered at sea.
Liu Xia is said to have suffered from depression after spending years under heavy surveillance. The development came three days before the anniversary of her husband's death.
Chinese authorities earlier maintained that the dissident's widow was a free citizen but she faced restrictions on her movements and had been kept under surveillance.
Patrick Poon, China Researcher at the human rights group Amnesty International, said it was "wonderful news that Liu Xia was finally free and that her persecution and illegal detention at the hands of the Chinese authorities came to an end".
He added: "The Chinese authorities tried to silence her, but she stood tall for human rights." Amnesty further called for an end to the harassment of Liu Xia's family who remained in China.
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SC should take cognisance: Priyanka on Sambhal issue
New Delhi (PTI): In the wake of violence in Uttar Pradesh's Sambhal, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Monday accused the Yogi Adityanath government of creating divisions while sitting in power and urged the Supreme Court to take cognisance of the matter and deliver justice.
Three people were killed and scores of others, including security and administration personnel, injured as protesters opposing a court-ordered survey of a Mughal-era mosque in Sambhal clashed with police on Sunday.
In a post in Hindi on X, Priyanka Gandhi said, "The attitude of the state government regarding the sudden dispute in Sambhal, Uttar Pradesh, is very unfortunate. The way the administration acted in haste in such a sensitive matter without listening to the other side, without taking both the parties into confidence, shows that the government itself spoiled the atmosphere there."
The administration did not even consider it necessary to follow the necessary procedure and duty, the Congress general secretary said.
"Trying to spread discrimination, oppression and division while sitting in power is neither in the interest of the people nor in the interest of the country. The honourable Supreme Court should take cognisance of the matter and do justice," Priyanka Gandhi said.
"My appeal to the people of the state is to maintain peace in all circumstances," she asserted.
The district administration has imposed prohibitory orders and barred the entry of outsiders till November 30 following Sunday's violence.
Deputy Inspector General of Police (Moradabad) Muniraj told reporters on Monday that Naeem, Bilal and Nauman -- the three men who died in Sunday's violence -- had been buried. All three were aged about 25.
Divisional Commissioner (Moradabad) Aunjaneya Kumar Singh said on Sunday, "Shots were fired by miscreants... the PRO of the superintendent of police suffered a gunshot to the leg, the circle officer was hit by pellets and 15 to 20 security personnel were injured in the violence."
A constable also suffered a serious head injury while the deputy collector fractured his leg, he had said.
Internet services were soon suspended in Sambhal tehsil for 24 hours and the district administration declared a holiday in all schools for Monday.
The Congress on Sunday alleged that the Adityanath administration was squarely responsible for killing innocents and only the BJP-RSS was guilty of "setting fire" to peace and harmony in Sambhal.
The opposition party had said the videos of direct firing on the protesters depicted the horrifying result of a "well-planned conspiracy" by Adityanath and the BJP-RSS.
