Former political prisoner smuggles list of fellow prisoners on escape from Tibet

The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) has received a list of 45 Tibetans from Sichuan Province who were arrested between 2008 and 2009. All of the prisoners on the list were held in Deyang(德阳) Prison, located in Huang Xu Town in Deyang City, Sichuan Province. The list is the latest evidence from Tibet of the harsh measures the Chinese imposed in Tibet during and after the 2008 Tibetan Uprising.

Ten out of 45 are still serving their sentence with two Tibetans serving life sentence. Pema Yeshi, a layman from Nyagri County in Kardze Prefecture initially got death sentence with two years’ reprieve, which was later commuted to life. The list shows 18 former and current prisoners who were not listed in TCHRD Political Prisoners Database.

The list was compiled by Gonpo Trinley. It is based on Tibetans he knew while he was held in the prison from 2008-2009. He smuggled the list out of Tibet when he arrived in India on 2 August 2014.

Gonpo Trinley

Gonpo Trinley, is 25 years old, and comes from Village no. 7 in Serkhar Township in Kardze (Ch: Ganzi) County, Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. He was born on 1 August 1989. He was brought up as a farmer and attended the local township’s school until, at 17, he joined the Sakya Nyadrag Monastery, the local monastery, and became a monk.

On 21 June 2008, during the 2008 Tibetan Uprising, Gonpo Trinley and his older cousin Nyida Sangpo staged a non-violent protest outside of the Kardze County police station. They distributed leaflets and shouted slogans calling for the “return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet.” Within minutes, People’s Armed Police officers showed up and began beating the cousins. After the beating, the cousins were taken to the county detention centre.

At the detention centre, Gonpo Trinley and Nyida Sangpo were interrogated. During the two hour long interrogation the two cousins were constantly beaten. The police were fixated on the cousins falsely admitting that their small protest was organized by some larger organization. After the interrogation, Gonpo Trinley and Nyida Sangpo were put in separate cells. For the next six months, Gonpo Trinley only ever went outside or saw the sun when he was taken to his montly interrogation session.

After six months of solitary confinement, Gonpo Trinley and 14 other Tibetan detainees, including his cousin, were paraded around town. The government issued warnings through loudspeakers that they would “strike hard on criminals.” When the parade was over, nine of the 15 detainees were transferred the Dartsedo (Ch: Kangding) County.

Gonpo Trinley spent a year in the Dartsedo Prison. On 16 July 2009, Gonpo Trinley and his brother were sentenced to ‘reform through labour’ (laogai) by a local court. Gonpo Trinley received a sentence of two years and six months, along with deprivation of political rights for two years. His cousin was sentenced to three years. The court sentenced seven other Tibetans with varying terms of two to six years.

Gonpo’s Trinley’s prison release order, which he shared with TCHRD shows that he was charged of ‘incitement to split the country’. (See image)

After the sentencing, the nine Tibetans including Gonpo and his cousin were sent to Deyang Prison, which is located about 2 hours away from Chengdu city, the capital of Sichuan Province. Gonpo Trinley estimated that there were about 2,700 prisoners at the Deyang Prison. Forty-five were Tibetans. However, due to strict controls it was almost impossible for the Tibetans to meet and interact. At Deyang Prison, the Tibetans were subjected to closer scrutiny by prison authorities and each Tibetan prisoner would be constantly followed and watched by about four Chinese prisoners.

At the Deyang Prison, Gonpo Trinley was kept with around 300 other prisoners in Unit 3. There were 6 other Tibetans in his unit and the other Tibetans were scattered among the other units. In Unit 3 Gonpo Trinley was put to work making canvas shoes. Everyday from 8am until 5pm he worked, with only a break for lunch. The work was organized like an assembly line, with each person making a small piece of each shoe. If at the end of the day the work unit did not meet their work target, everyone was forced to stand for two hours.

Their diet was meager. For breakfast they were given a steamed bun and watery rice porridge. For lunch and again for dinner they were given rice and vegetables. They were never given enough food to fill their stomach.

For one hour each day, Gonpo Trinley and his work unit were given “political education” sessions. These sessions consisted of watching government TV news channels and then listening to a lecture from a prison official explaining the main issues of some of the news stories. Once a month for 15 minutes, prisoners in Deyang Prison were allowed to see their parents or relatives. They could only talk to their visitors on the phone through a glass window.

Gonpo Trinley was released on 21 October 2010. When he returned home he received a grand welcome from local Tibetans and monks at his monastery. However, even after his release Gonpo Trinley was not truly free. He was barred from resuming his studies and rejoining his monastery. Local authorities prohibited him from leaving Serkhar Township without permission.

Gonpo Trinley was constantly monitored and forced to report to the Public Security Bureau. Every week, Gonpo Trinley was forced to report his activities and movements to township authorities and each month he had to go to the County Public Security Bureau office. Eventually, Gonpo Trinley left his hometown for an extended pilgrimage to monasteries in Sertha (Ch: Seda) County and Derge (Ch: Dege) County. After extensive travel, Gonpo reached Nepal in June 2014 and arrived in India on 2 August 2014. Throughout all his travels he carried the list of his fellow Tibetan prisoners from Deyang Prison.

Following is the list of 45 Tibetans imprisoned in 2008-2009 at Deyang, as provided by Gonpo Trinley to TCHRD:

*Gonjo County is located in Chamdo (Ch: Changdu) Prefecture in Tibet Autonomous Region in the Tibetan province of Kham.