Survival Under Surveillance: A Brief Overview of the Human Rights Situation in Tibet,1994-1995 (con't)

In 1994 there was one report of a Tibetan prisoner of conscience dying due to maltreatment and torture in police custody but in 1995 five such reports were received and we outline the cases below. Three of these deaths were female prisoners of conscience and two were children. In several of the cases reported the prisoners had been released but they were still technically in custody as they died whilst on "medical parole".

The Tibetan Government in-Exile is concerned by the frequent reports of the deaths and ill treatment of prisoners of conscience and the appalling prison conditions that they are subjected to, especially in Lhasa's Drapchi Prison. The effects of torture are exacerbated by a lack of medical care and inadequate nutrition, as well as the imposition of hard labour on prisoners who are physically weak.

1. Torture and Ill-Treatment of Tibetan Political Detainees and Prisoners of Conscience

The following detailed reports of torture and ill-treatment of Tibetan political prisoners of conscience were received in 1995:

• Jigme Gyatso: a monk detained at Labrang Monastery, Amdo, was detained on May 19, 1995 on suspicion of involvement in putting up pro-independence posters at the monastery. According to an unconfirmed report, the monk was beaten very badly by a "young policeman who was drunk". It did not name the policeman. "After the beating Jigme couldn't move his arms and legs", said the source, who cannot be identified.

• Konchog Jigme: a monk from Nguira, Machu county, Amdo, was arrested by the Xiahe county police in June 1995, on suspicion of involvement in putting up posters in Nguira in March. Konchog Jigme is said to have been badly beaten.

• Ngawang Chendrol, aged 19 in 1995, became ill, suffering from kidney damage, whilst she was serving a three year sentence in Drapchi prison for pro-independence activities. She was transferred to a hospital on medical parole in January 1995 and is now believed to be at home on medical parole. Her present condition is unknown.

• Yeshe Khedrup, a 24 year old monk from Ganden Monastery, Lhasa, was transferred to a police hospital from Drapchi Prison in a serious condition in November 1994. He was serving a six-year sentence. Hospital officials stated he was being treated for leg injuries, but according to well-informed sources he was suffering from kidney damage after being kicked by prison staff. His present condition is unknown.

• Dorje Gyaltsen: A monk at Tashilhunpo Monastery, Shigatse, aged under 30, detained on the night of July 12, 1995, during a police raid on his monastery was hospitalised for 19 days due to severe beatings during or after his arrest.

• Chime Dorjee and Tendor, both monks from Tashilhunpo Monastery were arrested on the night of July 12, 1995 in the course of a raid on the monastery. Both were reportedly beaten.

• Gyatrul Rinpoche, a reincarnate lama of Tashilhunpo Monastery arrested during the major police raid on the night of July 12 was hospitalised after severe torture in detention. The informants are two Tashilhunpo monks who recently escaped to India and who were imprisoned with Gyatrul Rinpoche.

• Dhonkyab: the Human Rights Desk reported on June 15, 1995 that Dhonkyab was arrested, by the Nepalese authorities, with 23 other Tibetans who he had escaped from Tibet. While in custody Dhonkyab was rendered unconscious after suffering a head injury caused by the beatings given to him by Nepalese police and underwent medical treatment in India.

• The Human Rights Desk also reported on June 15, 1995 that two 13 year old children from Kham and one six year old child from Amdo, eastern Tibet, who were amongst the 23 arrested and deported back to Tibet, were also severely beaten and rendered unconscious. After suffering this ordeal in the Nepalese prison they were then forcibly deported back to Tibet.

• Tibetan Demonstrator Hospitalised: according to a reliable source from Tibet, on September 9, 1995, five people from the region of Dhamshung under Nagchu district, Central Tibet, led a demonstration in the Barkhor area of Lhasa. The five demonstrators condemned China's interference in the Panchen Lama reincarnation issue. One of the demonstrators was badly beaten by the police authorities. Later he was taken to the "Men zhen Bu" Lhasa city hospital in a critical condition.

• Lodroe Gyatso: a prisoner in Drapchi, was tortured and severely punished in May 1995 for distributing pro-independence leaflets in prison and shouting slogans for a " Free Tibet".

The following six reports were received in 1994 and 1995 of known deaths caused by torture and ill-treatment of Tibetans prisoners of conscience.

• Phuntsog Yangkyi, then 20 and a Tibetan nun and prisoner of conscience, serving a five year sentence in Drapchi Prison, died in a police hospital in Lhasa on June 4, 1994 from head injuries. According to unofficial sources she was beaten by guards after she and other nuns sang nationalist songs to celebrate Losar (the Tibetan new year) on February 11, 1994. She was arrested in February 1992 at the age of 17 for taking part in a brief pro-independence demonstration.

• Tashi Tsering: died in May 1995 aged 59 as a result of prolonged torture and medical neglect in Drapchi Prison. Tashi was a monk at Drongtse Monastery in Yangmo township, Shigatse, and was arrested on November 28, 1989 for distributing pro-independence literature in the township. He was released in September 1994 on medical grounds as his health was deteriorating due to years of torture in prison.

• Gyaltsen Kelsang: died aged 24 on February 20, 1995. Gyaltsen was a nun at Garu Nunnery, near Lhasa when she was arrested on June 14, 1993 for pro-independence activities. She was taken to Drapchi Prison where she served three quarters of a two year sentence. In late November 1994 she was taken to a police hospital where she was diagnosed a suffering from severe kidney problems. She was reported to have been badly tortured whilst in prison and medically maltreated and neglected. She was later sent home on medical parole and died.

• Sherab Wangmo: a source from Tibet revealed that an 18 year old female, Sherab Wangmo died in April 1995 as a result of severe torture which she received whilst in Drapchi Prison. When a thomdhen (the Tibetan traditional disposer of dead bodies) cut up the corpse he found that the liver, kidneys and womb of the deceased were severely damaged.

• Sherab Ngawang was 15 when she died on May 15, 1995. She was then believed to be the youngest political prisoner in Tibet. She was a novice nun at Michungri Nunnery, on the outskirts of Lhasa, when she participated in a pro-independence demonstration in 1992 with four other nuns and was sentenced to three years of administrative detention as a prisoner of conscience at the age of 12. She was repeatedly tortured and ill- treated whilst in detention at Trisam Re-education Through Labour Camp. She was released in February 1995, after completing her term of detention, but died three months later at a police hospital in Lhasa.

• Sonam Tashi, a member of staff at the Woser Cooperative Society in Lhasa, died at the beginning of 1995. He had participated in the May 25, 1993 demonstration in Barkhor and was arrested on May 26, 1993 from his house. He was reportedly severely beaten during the interrogation sessions which caused multiple internal injuries.

[ previous section ]  |  [ next section ]  |  [ index ]