Dalai Lama asks China to release political prisoners

Dharamsala: Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama Monday urged the Chinese government to release writer Liu Xiaobo and other political prisoners.

"I am saddened by the Chinese government sentencing Liu Xiaobo, a well-known Chinese writer, to an 11-year jail term," the Dalai Lama said, according to a statement.

"By forcefully sentencing Liu Xiaobo, and others like him, who use freedom of expression to publicly articulate their opinions, the Chinese authorities have not only violated the binding principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also the freedom of expression mentioned in the constitution of the People's Republic of China.

"I urge the Chinese government to release as soon as possible Liu Xiaobo and other political prisoners who were jailed because of exercising freedom of expression," he said.

The Dalai Lama, along with many of his supporters, fled Tibet and took refuge in this Himachal Pradesh hill town in 1959. His government-in-exile is not recognised by any country in the world.