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A copy of the petition
Photo: TCHRD

Nine Tibetans from HorGyal village have been sentenced to between three and seven years imprisonment in Rebkhong County in the Tibetan Province of Amdo according to reports by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) on April 19. The TCHRD reported that the nine Tibetans have been convicted of creating an illegal organisation with the intent of taking over the two committees of the village, thus serving to usurp grass roots political power. The Tibetan human rights group said the court claimed that the nine Tibetans had deliberately obstructed the work of the government and committed the crime of disrupting social order by inciting public support.

According to information sourced by the TCHRD the nine men were detained in July 2018 and then arrested in August. In their article the TCHRD say that the arrests were made to undermine the authority and influence of traditional village leadership. The original arrests were made following a long-running campaign by the villagers, which included a petition. The petition, signed on February 21, 2018, and shown in the TCHRD article, was supported by a “reasons and guarantee” letter. It was signed by 24 khagovas (leaders), including the seven arrested. According to the letter, the village government office originally relented to repeated appeals by the government to use the land to build three brick factories, which, it was claimed, would benefit the people as well as the government. While functioning, the factories paid taxes to the village government committee. However, the factories were closed in 2011 due to the implementation of the policy for environmental conservation and as a result the payments ceased, while the factory owners were given substantial compensation for the closures. According to Radio Free Asia the nine arrested had garnered the support of the villagers, who have since appealed for the land to be returned to them, but no action has been forthcoming. The submission of the petition and letter were an attempt to try to promote action on this matter.