EU urges China to free Liu Xiaobo immediately

(BRUSSELS) - European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton urged China to immediately release jailed dissident Liu Xiaobo, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo in his absence on Friday.

"On this day dedicated to human rights defenders around the world my thoughts are with Liu Xiaobo," Ashton said, adding that the dissident was in prison for "peacefully expressing his views about political reforms in China."

"I reiterate my call for his immediate release," she said in a statement.

Earlier in Oslo the head of the Nobel Committee, Thorbjoern Jagland, placed the Peace Prize diploma and gold medal on an empty chair representing Liu at the award ceremony.

Liu, 54, is an author and former professor who was at the forefront of the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests.

He was jailed in December 2009 for 11 years on subversion charges after co-authoring "Charter 08", a manifesto that spread quickly on the Internet calling for political reform and greater rights in China.