Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo cremated, amid fears of wife's safety

China's Nobel laureate and prominent dissident Liu Xiaobo was cremated Saturday after succumbing to cancer while in custody, even as Beijing said his wife was "free so far" but must "avoid trouble" amid international pressure to let her leave the country.

The 61-year-old human rights activist died due to multiple organ failure following a battle with liver cancer on Thursday.

Family members and friends of Liu bade farewell to him in northeast China's Shenyang city, officials told a media briefing in the city.

Liu's body was cremated in accordance with the will of his family members and local customs, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Prior to the cremation, a simple ceremony was held with the attendance of Liu's wife Liu Xia and his friends.

"The cremation of Liu's body on Saturday accords with local customs and respects relatives' wishes," Zhang Qingyang, spokesperson for Shenyang's information office, told the media.

Liu's relatives, including his wife and brother Liu Xiaoguang, decided to cremate the remains and hold a simple funeral after consultation, the report said.
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