China mounts Nobel Prize security clampdown

that her husband would receive the prize. Officers have guarded her home since her house arrest,but were out in greater force ahead of the award ceremony.

Guards checked the identities of all who entered,while about a dozen journalists stood just outside the gate. Police cars were positioned on every surrounding corner,and officers patrolled outside the apartment block where the blinds were drawn on Liu8217;s two-story unit.

Liu Xia8217;s phone and Internet connections have been cut off,and friends,family and colleagues in the country8217;s embattled dissident community have been placed under house arrest or tight surveillance.

Several in the community,including renowned artist Ai Weiwei and human rights lawyer Mo Shaoping,have been barred from leaving the country,apparently out of fear they might attend today8217;s award ceremony in Oslo. Others have been removed from Beijing by security agents to keep them out of the loop entirely.

Liu8217;s award has elicited a furious and wide-ranging response from Beijing,with daily tirades in state media and regular denouncements from Foreign Ministry officials.

The vilification campaign has rocketed Liu from relative obscurity to worldwide fame,in apparent contradiction to the communist leadership8217;s desire to negate his influence with an 11-year prison sentence for sedition. The term was handed down after he co-authored a bold appeal for human rights and multi-party democracy.