Former Tibetan political prisoner and revered monk Jigme Gyatso, 56, who was known for his resistance against the Chinese government in Tibet, died on July 2 at his home in Kanlho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, in China’s Gansu province. No cause of death has been given, but sources said he had been in poor health since his release from prison in 2016, reports Radio Free Asia.
Tsering Tsomo, Executive Director of the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) has said that TCHRD is demanding “immediate and impartial investigation into Gyatso’s untimely death and prosecution of his torturers in the Chinese law enforcement establishment”. TCHRD’s statement continued saying that Jigme Gyatso was “one of the most courageous and compassionate human rights defenders, who sacrificed everything to advance the cause of freedom and human rights in Tibet. Gyatso’s death was the direct result of the long years of torture and cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment he suffered at the hands of Chinese government and the denial of proper and timely medical treatment,”
Since his release in October 2016 after serving five years in prison on a charge of working “to split the nation”, Jigme Gyatso had been incurably ill. He was suffering from multiple health complications including diabetes, hypertension and other complications related to his heart, liver and eyes, according to TCHRD. Because of continued police surveillance and other restrictions such as not being able to recover his national ID card, he could not seek proper and safe medical treatment at private hospitals, reports TCHRD. In May, his health began to deteriorate and he was admitted to a medical facility in Amdo [Ch: Qinghai] for an extended period but his condition did not improve.
Also known as Labrang Jigme, he was a monk and Buddhist scholar at Labrang Monastery in Sangchu County, Kanlho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province. Jigme Gyatso faced multiple detentions in the past for his protests against the Chinese government’s oppression in Tibet. He came into prominence after he testified in a 2009 video about the brutal treatment he suffered from Chinese authorities, which was widely circulated on the Internet. In the video, he described in detail about his trauma, constant inhumane beatings, multiple hospitalisations, denial of food and water for days, forced confessions and interrogations which are reported to have nearly killed him. In 2016, after he was released from his last detention, the Chinese authorities ordered his family not to have a welcoming reception and he was asked not to put on his monk’s robe and not to return to his monastery.
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