Liu Xia was placed under police surveillance in 2010, the same year her husband, Liu Xiabo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for what the committee called “his long and nonviolent struggle for fundamental rights in China.” Liu Xiabo was not allowed to go to Oslo to receive the prize; Liu Xia was also barred from attending the ceremony.

Liu Xiabo, who was detained in 2008 after promoting a pro-democracy charter, died of liver cancer at age 61 while serving an 11-year prison sentence for “inciting subversion of state power.”

Liu Xia was restricted to her Beijing apartment, where she was kept virtually incommunicado and under heavy surveillance, occasionally allowed to leave for short trips or receive visitors, but denied a passport. She battled severe depression and threatened to kill herself earlier this year.

In May, Liu Xia sent out a desperate plea for help, saying there was “nothing in the world for me now.” “It’s easier to die than to live. For me, using death to fight back can’t be any simpler,” she said in a statement posted on Facebook by a longtime friend.

In July, Liu Xia arrived in Germany after fleeing Beijing, where she spent almost eight years under house arrest. European diplomats said over the last several months that China had left Liu Xia in limbo as a show of resolve against Chinese human rights dissidents, despite aggressive efforts by Germany to press for her release. In Hong Kong, a makeshift statue of Liu Xiabo has become a fixture near the city’s Victoria Park.

Although she has been allowed to leave after years of protests and petitions, she is still not totally free. A panel of UN human rights experts said they were “disturbed by reports of the deteriorating health of Liu Xia. She is reportedly physically restricted at an unknown location and suffers from severe psychological distress.” “If Ms. Liu is free as she is said to be by the authorities, she should be allowed to peacefully exercise her right to freedom of expression and movement,” they said.

In Berlin, Liu Xia joins a small but influential community of Chinese exiles, including the artist and filmmaker Ai Weiwei and dissident writer Liao Yiwu.

Germany-based Chinese artist Badiucao added, “how much freedom Liu Xia really has remains a question, but still it’s a time for joy and happiness. I cannot wait to read her new poetry and see her new photos after her freedom.”