A Tibetan sentenced to suspended death sentence, two others to life and 16 years in prison in Nyarong
The Kardze Intermediate People’s Court has sentenced three Tibetans from Nyarong County (Ch: Xinlong xian) to varying prison terms, according to confirmed information received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).
Three Tibetans; Pema Yeshi, 28, Sonam Gonpo, 24, and Tsewang Gyatso a.k.a Tsok Tsok, 32, all from Thangkyi Township, Nyarong County, Kardze “Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture” (‘TAP’) Sichuan Province, were sentenced by the Kardze Intermediate People’s Court on 17 November 2009 to two-year suspended death sentence, life imprisonment and 16 years term respectively on charges of “inciting separatism” and “disturbing social order.”
The news of their arrest was reported in the Ganzi Daily, the local official newspaper dated 18 March 2009. According to the report, “three Tibetans accused were arrested on 11 March 2009 under suspicion of pasting and distributing pamphlets calling for Tibet independence on roads of Thangkyi Township, Nyarong County and setting fire to the Thangkyi Township government building causing damages worth around 200,000 yuan to the government on 28 February 2009.”
According to sources, for the next five months since their arrest, information on their whereabouts and conditions remained completely unknown to their family members. The family members came to know about their detention at Chengdu Public Security Bureau (PSB) Detention Centre only around August last year five months after their arrests.
On 17 November 2009, the Kardze Intermediate People’s Court sentenced the three to varying prison terms. However, the family members were informed by the local officials about their court verdict only around 10 December 2009. It can be well presumed that the accused were completely denied even the basic legal rights guaranteed under the Chinese laws as circumstances leading towards their indictment points to a secret trial with no representation of their choice.
Both Sonam Gonpo and Tsewang Gyatso work as cook at the Thangkyi Primary School in Thangkyi Township, Nyarong County. They are currently known to be detained at a PSB Detention Centre in Deyang City, Sichuan Province, whereas Pema Yeshi, a farmer from Thangkyi township sentenced to two years suspended death sentence is known to be detained at Dartsedo (Ch: Kangding) PSB Detention Centre, Sichuan Province. The three were actively involved in the “Farming Boycott Movement” and “No Losar” movement undertaken by Tibetans inside Tibet last year to mourn the death of Tibetans and to show solidarity with other Tibetans who continued to remain in prison.
According to the Centre’s documentation, there are hundreds of Tibetans who are still held without any charges and at least 334 Tibetans were known to have been sentenced by courts at various levels to varying prison terms ranging from few months to death sentence. In almost all the known cases the defendants had no independent legal counsel and in a few cases where the defendants were being represented by a lawyer of choice, the authorities ensured that these representations were blocked either through intimidation or through procedural tactics.
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) condemns in strongest term over the arbitrary nature of their court sentences where trials were held in complete secrecy without the knowledge of their family members. The Centre urges the Chinese government to reverse the verdict imposed by Kardze Intermediate People’s Court and ensure free and fair trial to the three Tibetans. The Centre appeals to the international community to intervene in the unfair and harsh sentencing of the three Tibetans
