Excerpted from The Associated Press:

''I think it is an absolute Draconian sentence,'' said Sharon Hom, executive director of Human Rights in China, a New York-based group.

''This is a gutting of any pretext of any freedom of expression in China,'' she said.

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For more information on this issue:

• “International Community Speaks out on Liu Xiaobo Verdict,” December 30, 2009;
• “Liu Xiaobo’s Guilty Verdict and 11-Year Sentence Send Message of Zero Tolerance for Universal Human Rights,” December 25, 2009;
• “What Constitutes Liu Xiaobo’s ‘Incitement to Subvert State Power’?,” December 23, 2009;
• Ding Zilin, “The Dirtiest of Political Trials,” December 23, 2009;
• “Ding Zilin Urges Charter 08 Signers to ‘Join’ Liu Xiaobo’s Trial," December 18, 2009;
• “HRIC Strongly Condemns the Formal Arrest of Liu Xiaobo by Chinese Authorities,” June 24, 2009
• “Chinese Authorities Continue to Suppress Charter 08; Number of Signers Exceeds 7,200,” January 9, 2009
• “Independent Scholars Detained: Start of 2009 Crackdown?” December 9, 2008
• Charter 08, translation by Human Rights in China, December 9, 2008;
• “Rights Crackdown Intensifies a Month before the Games,” July 8, 2008
• “Chinese Scholars and Activists Demand Equality for Migrant Workers in China,” February 14, 2008