Liu Xiaobo, 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Winner And Other Political Prisoners

Political prisoner,  Liu Xiaobo,  is serving an 11-year prison sentence for 'inciting the subversion of state power,' and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize today for his work toward nonviolent political change in China.

The sad thing is, in China, broadcasts of CNN, which is available in tourist hotels, upmarket foreign hotels and places where foreigners gather, went black during the Nobel announcement and when reports about the award later aired.

China's Foreign Ministry did not immediately comment, but a spokeswoman said recently that choosing Liu would go against the prize's aims. How sweet is it to be in jail and win the Nobel Peace Prize? Especially since your country won’t even recognize you as winning the award.

Political prisoners is a term used in ways that represent someone who was fighting for a just cause and got a raw deal because the courts and the government felt he was being a radical. Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King all faced imprisonment because they strongly felt that the way things were needed to change. So in honor of Liu Xiaobo winning the Noble Peace Prize in his efforts to achieve nonviolent political change, we take a look at other political prisoners who wanted to change things for the better.