Since the beginning of August, there have already been instances of Tibetans in Tibet being arrested, sentenced, or released in poor condition by the Chinese authorities, and news of sentences earlier this year is also coming through.
Lobsang Samten (L), Lobsang Nyima (C) and Sonam Gyewa (R)
photo: phayul
Sonam Gewa, Lobsang Samten, Lobsang Nyima and Tenzin Sherab, four monks from the Nyatso Zilkar Monastery, have been released before the completion of their sentences, according to a report from The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) on August 14. They had been held at a Re-education Through Labour camp in Qinghai province, Yushu, Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. Tenzin Sherab was serving a one year sentence for circulating a newspaper called Mar-jen (Raw Red) which apparently carried content relating to self-immolation protests. He was severely beaten and tortured during detention, and they all underwent excessive hard labour. Three of them were arrested in February last year in connection with a protest march involving around 1400 Tibetans who carried banners and shouted slogans calling for the return of the exiled Tibetan leader the Dalia Lama.
An undated picture of Dorjee
Dorjee, a student of the Rebkong Intermediate school and a native of Dowa town, has been sentenced by a Chinese court in Rebkong to two and a half years in prison. He is charged for his “involvement with self immolation protests”. in November last year, and with “instigating separatism”, engaging in pro-independence protests and founding a group called ‘Ghangsol Gyunzin Tsokpa’ (Eng: Tibet Culture Preservation Organisation). The verdict was announced in February this year but has emerged only now as a result of China’s strict censorship and monitoring of information. He is currently held at a detention centre in Xiling, Qinghai.
Meanwhile, two monks, Drakpa Gyatso and Jigme Tenzin, also from Dowa town, have been released. They were arrested following self immolation protests by Tibetans in the region.
Gangchen Drupa Kyab, a popular Tibetan writer and a father of two, was sentenced to five and a half years imprisonment.
Photo: TCHRD
Akhu Gyatak, 63, from Rebgong in northeastern Tibet has been sentenced to four years in prison and stripped of his political rights for two years. The Intermediate People’s court in Malho (incorporated into China’s Qinghai province),charged Gyatak with subverting state laws and orchestrating separatist activities. He was reportedly arrested in November last year for taking part in a peaceful protest against China’s crackdown following a spate of self-immolation protests. He was accused of allegedly talking about Tibet’s independence, and of providing material assistance to the families of self immolators. Gyatak is currently held in a prison in Xiling.
And more recently, in August, five Tibetans, identified as Drensel, Yudrang, Samdup, Sheygyal and Gangkye Drupa Kyab, have been sentenced by a Chinese court in Kardze’s Nyagchu County. The reason stated for the prison terms — which range from two to five and a half years — is their supposed participation in “anti China” activities that took place on August 1. They were also sentenced for being members of Mar Chung Ngogoel Tsogpa (Anti-Communist Party Association) which is a blacklisted association.
Three Tibetan monks, identified as Namsay Sonam, Dhondup Gyaltsen and Rabsel have also been sentenced to prison terms of two and a half years. The monks were detained back in October of 2012 for distributing anti government posters near the local government’s administrative site. Sources state that the Chinese authorities attempted to try them “under charges of separating the motherland and anti national activities but their lawyer managed to convince the authorities to book them under charges of much less serious activity of providing protection to criminals.”
Samdup, 32, was sentenced to five years in prison
Photo: Phayul.com
Additionally, a man named Tamding Tsering was recently released from a Xining prison after seven months of incarceration during which he was subjected to severe torture. He was detained in 2012 for his connection with a self immolation protest by a school girl named Bhenchen Kyi, who set herself on fire in Tsekhog, Rebkong’s Dorkarmo region. Tamding Tsering remains in poor health due to his wounds and is presently in his hometown of Dokarmo Meko in Tsekhok County, Malho in the Tibet Autonomous Prefecture.
Two weeks ago, another Tibetan political prisoner was released in poor health after completing his prison term. Sonam Rinchen served 18 months for his alleged role in a peaceful protest in the Drango region of Kham in February last year. He is in poor health following the injuries he received in prison.
Three Tibetan villagers were arrested by Chinese authorities for their refusal to fly the Chinese national flag from their homes. The three Tibetans have been taken to Pashoe County in the Chamdo prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region for custody. A source told Radio Free Asia on August 1 that “About three days ago, township officials visited two villages called Polung and Muko in Pashoe and insisted that Tibetan residents place Chinese flags on their houses. When the Tibetans refused to do this, the officials warned that noncompliance would be treated as anti-state activity, and when the Tibetans continued to refuse, the authorities detained two from Polung and one from Muko.”
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