Jailed Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo has been named the winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.
The award, announced in Norway’s capital Oslo, is certain to anger Beijing, which had earlier warned against the move.
Norwegian Nobel Committee president Thorbjoern Jagland said Mr Liu was “the foremost symbol of the wide-ranging struggle for human rights in China”.
Mr Jagland earlier admitted he knew the choice would be controversial.
He told local television before the announcement: “You’ll understand when you hear the name.”
Mr Jagland said during the announcement of the award that China’s new status in the world “must have increased responsibility”.
He said that in practice the freedoms enshrined in China’s constitution had been “distinctly curtailed for many of China’s citizens”.
Mr Jagland said the choice had become clear early in the process.
Mr Liu, 54, was jailed for 11 years on Christmas Day last year for drafting Charter 08, which called for multiparty democracy and respect for human rights in China.
Last month, the Chinese foreign ministry warned the Nobel committee not to award him the prize, saying it would be against Nobel principles.
No candidates are announced ahead of the Peace Prize but others mentioned in the media included Afghan women’s rights activist Sima Samar, Russian human rights activist Svetlana Gannushkina, former German chancellor Helmut Kohl and Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai.
The Nobel committee had to defend last year’s controversial Peace Prize choice of US President Barack Obama.
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