World leaders call for release of Liu Xiaobo’s widow but stop short of hard line

Western governments have called on China to free the widow of Liu Xiaobo after the Nobel laureate’s death on Thursday, but most stopped short of denouncing Beijing’s treatment of its most prominent political prisoner.

The United States, Germany, Britain, France and the European Union all urged China to release Liu Xia from house arrest and ­allow her to leave the country. Her husband is the first Nobel laureate to die in custody since 1938, when pacifist Carl von Ossietzky died in a hospital under Nazi Germany.

Liu Xiaobo was serving an ­11-year jail term on subversion charges for his part in drafting pro-democracy manifesto “Charter 08”. He was only released on medical parole after being diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer in May. His requests to be treated overseas were repeatedly rejected by Beijing.

In its statement, Germany ­demanded China “quickly, transparently and plausibly answer the question of whether the cancer could not have been identified much earlier”.

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson went further, saying it “was wrong” for Beijing to deny Liu the right to be treated abroad.

Leaders of the US, Germany, France and Norway paid tribute to Liu – who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010 – but their statements were limited to expressions of sadness and condolences.