The United States demanded the immediate release of leading Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, after he was sentenced to 11 years in prison on subversion charges. State Department Acting Spokesman Mark Toner said in a statement in Washington that it is deeply concerned to learn that well-known Chinese democracy activist Liu Xiaobo was found guilty of incitement to subvert state power. He said, requests by Liu's wife, the US Embassy and other diplomatic missions to attend the trial were also denied. He said, punishing people for peacefully expressing their political views violates the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which China has signed. 53-year-old Liu, a writer who was jailed over the 1989 Tiananmen pro-democracy protests, was sentenced to 11 years in prison for inciting subversion of state power after co-authoring a call for political reform last year.