Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo’s ashes scattered in sea

– Rescue her ‘fast’ –

Liu was jailed in 2008 after co-writing a petition calling for democratic reforms. The veteran of the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests was sentenced to 11 years in prison for “subversion” a year later.

He died of multiple organ failure at a Shenyang hospital more than a month after he was transferred from prison due to late-stage liver cancer.

At his funeral, Mozart’s Requiem was played and Liu Xia “fixed her eyes on him a long time, mumbling to say farewell,” Zhang said, adding that she was “in very low spirits”.

“She has just lost her husband, so she is currently emotionally grieving,” Zhang said.

“It’s best for her not to receive too much outside interference during this period after Liu Xiaobo has died,” he said.

Genser said Liu Xia has been held for seven years even though she has never been charged with any crime.

“The world needs to mobilise to rescue her – and fast,” he said in a statement.

Another family friend and activist, Ye Du, also cast doubt that she was released: “Liu Xia has never been free. There’s no doubt about that.”

The foreign ministry lashed out at the international criticism on Friday, saying it lodged official protests with the United States, Germany, France and the United Nations human rights office.

The foreign ministry said giving Liu the Nobel Peace Prize was “blasphemy” while state-run media has called him a “convicted criminal”.

“His influence has breached the fundamental moral principle of Chinese patriotism and posed a challenge to China’s stability and national security,” the nationalist Global Times tabloid said in an editorial. “This is why the Chinese society opposes and despises him.”