Writers urge China to end house arrest of Liu Xia, wife of Nobel laureate

FILE PHOTO: Liu Xia, wife of jailed Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Liu Xiaobo, looks out of a car window after a trial outside a court in the Huairou district of Beijing, China June 9, 2013. REUTERS/Petar Kujundzic/File Photo

BEIJING (Reuters) - More than two dozen writers, poets and artists on Wednesday called for the release of Liu Xia, the widow of Nobel Peace Prize-winner Liu Xiaobo, who has been under house arrest in China since her husband died in custody last year.

Concern is growing among Western diplomats and friends of Liu Xia over delayed talks to arrange for Liu to leave China for another country, a wish she has repeatedly made clear.