Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontieres) says Chinese authorities are “guilty of murder by lack of care” over the death of writer and human rights activist Liu Xiaobo.

The Nobel peace laureate, who was also awarded the RSF’s press freedom laureate, died in hospital yesterday from late-stage liver cancer. He was moved from a prison in Liaoning for treatment less than three weeks ago.

RSF secretary general Christophe Deloire said: “It is outrageous that the Chinese authorities waited until Liu Xiaobo’s cancer was in the terminal stage before treating him in hospital.