Chinese Nobel prize winner Liu cremated in 'private ceremony'

The veteran dissident died on Thursday, aged 61, becoming the first Nobel peace prize winner to die in custody.

Beijing, July 15: The Nobel laureate and democracy icon Liu Xiaobo was cremated in north-eastern China in a private cermony, Chinese authorities have announced. Family members and friends of late Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo bid him farewell on Saturday in China's Shenyang city.

The veteran dissident died on Thursday, aged 61, becoming the first Nobel peace prize winner to die in custody since the 1935 recipient, German pacifist Carl von Ossietzky, died under surveillance after years confined to Nazi concentration camps.

Liu, convicted of subversion of state power in 2009, died of multiple organ failure due to liver cancer on Thursday night. He was 61, reports Xinhua news agency.

Prior to the cremation, a ceremony was held with the attendance of the late activist's wife Liu Xia and his friends. At 6:30 AM, Liu Xia was the first to bid farewell to her husband in the rhythm of Mozart's Requiem, then Liu's relatives and friends bowed three times in front of his body during ceremony.

His wife and brother Liu Xiaoguang cremated the remains and hold a simple funeral after consultation.

IANS