Chinese Nobel Laureate's Wife Asks For Easing Of House Arrest

Liu Xia, the wife of jailed Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, talks to visitors in her room in Beijing on in December 2012.

The wife of jailed Chinese Nobel Peace laureate Liu Xiaobo is pleading for the authorities to ease the conditions of her house arrest.

The request was conveyed on December 3 by a close friend.

She is seeking three rights -- to consult an independent doctor, to access letters from her husband, and to earn an income.

Liu Xia has suffered increasing depression since 2009, but getting Chinese medical attention could force her to enter a mental hospital.

Liu is not allowed to interact with most of the outside world save her immediate family -- and only then with permission.

She has not been charged with any offense.

Her husband, Liu Xiaobo, was convicted of subversion in 2009 and sentenced to 11 years in prison after he wrote and disseminated a document calling for democracy.

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP