Beijing  - Liu Xiaobo, a prominent Chinese human rights activist, has been detained by police, Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa was told Wednesday by a lawyer supporting Liu.

The writer and chairman of China's Pen Club signed an appeal for more democracy and freedom in China together with about 300 other intellectuals and activists on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the declaration of universal human rights.

The circumstances of Liu's arrest, with his apartment searched and his computer seized, indicate that the former philosophy professor at Beijing University faces prosecution, sources close to Liu said.

The activist group Human Rights in China said police presented a formal writ at arrest, accusing Liu of "undermining the state's authority." (dpa)