China must release Tibetan singer Gegjom from unjust detention 

Chinese authorities must release from unjust detention Tibetan singer Gegjom who is being held in an undisclosed location after his arbitrary detention at the hands of local police in Khyungchu (Ch: Hongyuan) County, Ngaba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, in the Tibetan province of Amdo.

“We are deeply concerned about the condition and wellbeing of Gegjom because we know Tibetan detainees are routinely tortured and ill-treated in the most inhumane manner in undisclosed locations with no access to due legal process,” said Ms Tenzin Dawa, executive director of TCHRD. 

 “For his own safety and to uphold his human rights, Gegjom must be granted immediate access to his family members and released unconditionally without any delay.”

 Gegjom disappeared hours after the police called him to report to the county police station. The call was made on the morning of 12 February 2024, the third day of the Tibetan New Year, and he went missing the same evening. 

Following this, Gegjom’s family members approached the county police station to inquire about the singer’s whereabouts. The police officers didn’t provide any information about Gegjom’s condition or whereabouts, instead they said to the family members: “The song he sang and the thinking [behind it] raises concerns. The local police are currently interrogating him. It would be better for him if his family does not disclose any information about his current information with the outside world. That way, things will go smoother.”

 At an evening gathering during the Tibetan New Year, alongside many other Tibetan artists, Gegjom had performed the song titled “Tearful deluge of a sorrowful song.” Below is a translated excerpt from the song:

In a country without the Dalai Lama, a leader exists but is illegitimate.
Like a deer lost in the fog, so are Tibetans without direction. 
The sun of just policy is eclipsed in this land of injustice. 
Confronted with injustice, the red-faced Tibetans are ants under a giant’s feet. 
In this land rife with torture, the “lamp of peace” is mere empty rhetoric. 
Deprived of freedom, Tibetans are like birds confined inside a cage.

The song expresses the common grievances held by the Tibetans against Chinese rule and criticises the repressive policies of the Chinese Party-State. In the current climate of heightened repression, local Tibetans have little to no avenues to exercise basic human rights including the right to freedom of expression or peaceful dissent. 

Tibetan singers engaging in peaceful dissent are immediately labelled by  authorities as threats to “national security” or “social stability.” The vaguely defined articles in the revised National Security Law further aid the authorities in justifying enforced disappearances of singers, writers, poets and intellectuals in Tibet. 

 Gegjom’s arbitrary detention mirrors a broader pattern of repression against minority rights and cultural expression in Tibet. Despite China’s constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression, such rights are severely curtailed in practice. Gegjom’s arrest underscores the perilous travails for those daring to critique the Chinese government and highlights the alarmingly limited space for free expression in Tibet.