China Gives Dissident Liu 11 Years in Prison

A Chinese court sentenced prominent dissident Liu Xiaobo to 11 years in jail today on subversion charges after he called for sweeping political reforms and an end to Communist Party dominance. Liu sentencing comes despite international appeals for his release, which China sternly rejected as interference in its internal affairs.

Liu was the co-author of an unusually direct appeal for political liberalization in China called Charter 08. He was detained just before it was released last December. More than 300 people, including some of China's top intellectuals, signed it. (More Liu Xiaobo stories.)