The well-known Tibetan language rights advocate Tashi Wangchuk, who was sentenced to five years in prison for “inciting separatism”, was released yesterday after completing his sentence. However, he remains inaccessible to his lawyers even as it is reported that he is staying at his sister’s home in Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, in the Tibetan province of Kham. Mr…
Chinese authorities have declared “unconstitutional” local regulations that require the use and development of the spoken and written language of “ethnic minorities”, further cementing the Chinese party-state’s aggressive attempts to assimilate minority nationalities into a single Chinese national identity. The National People’s Congress (NPC), which is subservient to the Chinese Communist Party, made this pronouncement in a work report submitted…
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) condemns the latest attempt by Chinese authorities to block imprisoned Tibetan language advocate Tashi Wangchuk’s appeal against his five-year prison term by giving the excuse of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Tashi Wangchuk had been sentenced to five years in prison on the trumped-up charge of “inciting separatism” in May 2018 by the Yushu Intermediate People’s Court in Qinghai Province following which he decided to appeal the sentence through his lawyers Lin Qilei and Liang Xiaojun.
Chinese authorities have again denied lawyers for imprisoned Tibetan language advocate Tashi Wangchuk permission to visit their client in Dongchuan Prison, Xining City, Qinghai Province.
Wangchuk had been sentenced to five years in prison in May 2018 for allegedly ‘inciting separatism’ because he criticised Chinese policies and practices on Tibetan language and culture. He did not accept the verdict and decided to appeal.
In arbitrary detention for over three years for advocating Tibetan language education, Tashi Wangchuk continues to maintain his innocence and seeks to appeal against his five-year conviction on trumped up charges of ‘inciting separatism’.
According to an update published by Chinese Human Rights Defenders, Tibetan language advocate Tashi Wangchuk’s lawyer Lin Qilei was not allowed to meet with his client on 15 January during a visit to Dongchuang Prison in Xining, Qinghai Province. Lin had sought the meeting to discuss details of Tashi Wangchuk’s appeal notice. After being made to wait for an hour, prison authorities told Lin that since the case was ‘sensitive’, approval was required from the provincial Political and Legal Committee.
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) condemns in the strongest terms the sentencing of Tibetan language advocate Tashi Wangchuk to five years imprisonment on the trumped-up charge of inciting separatism.
Tashi Wangchuk was arbitrarily detained on 27 January 2016 after a New York Times documentary reported on his efforts to file a lawsuit against local Chinese authorities for their failure to protect and promote Tibetan culture and language. He had been in arbitrary detention for almost two years when his trial, held in January this year, ended without a verdict.