Story highlights Liu has been serving an 11-year jail sentence "inciting subversion of state power"

He was awarded Nobel peace prize while in prison in 2010

Beijing (CNN) Jailed Chinese dissident and Nobel peace laureate Liu Xiaobo has been diagnosed with late-stage liver cancer and granted medical parole, his lawyer told CNN.

"When a prison clinic is unable to deal with an inmate's medical condition, the authorities can approve outside treatment in accordance with law," said Liu's lawyer, Mo Shaoping, Monday.

"I understand from his family that his request was approved."

Liu, 61, is being treated at a hospital in Shenyang in northeastern China after receiving the diagnosis in late May. He had been serving an 11-year prison sentence for "inciting subversion of state power" in nearby Jinzhou.

The Chinese government confirmed Liu's diagnosis and parole in a statement released late Monday.

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