The Chinese authorities have extended the prison sentence of Tibetan activist Tsongon Tsering by an additional eight months, after he refused to accept the charges against him.
The Kyungchu County People’s Court imposed the extension after Tsering refused to accept the charges against him. He has since been transferred to a prison in Barkham (Ch: Maerkang) County, the prefectural capital of Ngaba (Ch: Aba) Tibetan...
Tsongon Tsering, a resident of Tsaruma village in Kakhog (Ch: Hongyuan) County, Ngaba (Ch: Aba) Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, has been sentenced to eight months in prison on 27 October by the Kyungchu (Ch: Qiongxi) County People’s Court. He was convicted on the trumped-up charge of “disrupting social order.” Tsering had been detained incommunicado after gaining widespread attention online for exposing large-scale illegal mining along the river in...
Writer Dhi Lhaden’s release following four years of confinement raises concerns over the uncertainty surrounding his physical and psychological well-being, compounded by the limited accessibility of information relating to his present circumstances.
In addition to media reports, TCHRD sources have confirmed the release of Lhaden and his return to his residence, an occasion met with much joy from fellow Tibetans. However, no immediate and comprehensive information can be obtained about his current physical and psychological condition due to heavy restrictions placed upon him and others to stop any information from being shared with outsiders.
Chinese authorities are systematically removing from its publicly accessible databases records of court verdicts involving Tibetans convicted of engaging in the vaguely worded and broadly defined crimes of “endangering state security”.
Recent information received by TCHRD confirms that such records are not only made inaccessible for cases in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) but also in other Tibetan areas outside TAR. This means that an unknown number of Tibetans are tried and sentenced in secret with no official acknowledgment or information about their imprisonment.
On 3 May, Gonpo Kyi shared a video condemning the unjust verdict against her brother, Dorje Tashi, stating that leaders do not follow the law while the masses are subject to punitive measures. Despite peaceful protests, such as wearing a shirt with slogan and holding a copy of the verdict, authorities detained and physically abused her. In response, Gonpo Kyi stated that she would continue to protest until justice was served. Her brother’s case has been marred with allegations of false conviction and judicial irregularities, and despite numerous appeals, he remains behind bars for false loan fraud charges. The Chinese authorities’ repeated detention and intimidation of peaceful protesters like Gonpo Kyi violate fundamental human rights.
Tibetan teacher detained on 10 April for expressing joy at seeing the recent video of His Holiness the Dalai Lama interacting with a young Indian boy on social media has been released from detention but placed under house arrest and his employment has been terminated. He was held incommunicado for two weeks.
Information received by TCHRD confirmed that Gephel, a Tibetan student from Muge Township in Zungchu (Ch: Songpan) County, Ngaba (Ch: Aba) Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, in the Tibetan province of Amdo, was detained on the evening of 24 January from his home for displaying Buddhist flags instead of Chinese flag as the backdrop on the stage during ‘Losar’ New Year celebration show.
Information obtained by at least two sources in Lhasa confirmed that on the morning of 19 December, around 10:30 am local time, Gonpo Kyi stood outside the Lhasa Intermediate People's Court holding a placard with a slogan in Chinese: "Dorji Tashi is innocent." In less than 5 minutes, security personnel swooped down on her even as she continued shouting slogans for her brother’s innocence. She was eventually taken behind the court building following which her condition and whereabouts remain unknown.
TCHRD calls on the Chinese authorities to put an immediate end to the zero-Covid policy in all its forms and hold government officials responsible for the avoidable death of Nangchen Tashi’s grandson. A thorough and impartial investigation must be launched into this tragedy so that similar violations and unnecessary loss of life can be prevented in the future.
On this Human Rights Day, we call on the Chinese government to immediately put an end to its inhumane and brutal ‘zero-Covid’ policy, release all persons detained for criticizing the government mismanagement of Covid measures, adopt a human rights approach to Covid control and prevention, and fulfill its treaty obligations by ensuring that the most basic of human rights such as dignity, freedom, and justice are accessible to all.
The news about Goyon’s release comes close on the heels of another major development: sentencing of six former Tibetan political prisoners, writers and public intellectuals on the trumped-up charges of "inciting separatism" and "endangering state security" in Kardze (Ch: Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province.
As reports emerged of massive protests staged by Chinese public against the government’s zero-Covid policy, sources in Tibet informed TCHRD about the discriminatory treatment and arbitrary detention of local Tibetans in the last three months in both Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) and other Tibetan areas.
Information received by TCHRD confirms the detention of four known Tibetans, among them an elderly woman, for merely engaging in the Tibetan Buddhist practice of making financial offerings to Tibetan spiritual teachers or Lamas (‘The Superior One’ or ‘The Venerable One’).
China’s strict enforcement of its zero-Covid policy in central parts of Tibet has so far forced five Tibetans to commit suicide. Five people who died of suicide on 23, 24 and 25 September were from Lhasa Comprehensive Protective Tariff Zone no. 2(West Lhasa), the Bayi community (southwest Norbulingka), Lanting apartment (near Tibet University), and Gakyiling neighbourhood 3 (east of Lhasa).
