FILE PHOTO - Liu Xia, the wife of Chinese dissident Liu Xiaobo, talks to the media in Beijing February 11, 2010. REUTERS/Nir Elias/File Photo

OSLO (Reuters) - The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which awards the Nobel Peace Prize, said on Friday it was “deeply worried” about the situation of Liu Xia, the widow of Nobel laureate Liu Xiaobo, after his death on Thursday.

“The Norwegian Nobel Committee is deeply worried about Liu Xia’s situation in the aftermath of her husband’s tragic death,” Olav Njoelstad, the secretary of the committee, said in an emailed statement to Reuters.

“We call upon Chinese authorities to lift all restrictions they have put upon her. If she wants to leave China, there is no justification for denying her the opportunity to do so.”