A former Tibetan political prisoner, who had been released last year after completing a four-year prison term, died yesterday at his home because local authorities barred him from seeking timely and proper medical care.
Choekyi, 43, died at around 3.35 pm local time on 7 May in Shosang village, Nyitod Township, Serthar (Ch: Seda) County, Kardze (Ch: Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province. He was a monk at Phugu Monastery.
In a shocking case of reprisals against a former Tibetan political prisoner living in India, Chinese authorities have subjected his family members including his elderly mother to illegal detention in Pema (Ch: Baima) County in Golok (Ch: Guoluo) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province. The family was threatened of severe consequences if they failed to hand over the former political prisoner to the authorities.
A prominent former Tibetan political prisoner named Lodoe Gyatso was detained late last month for carrying out a lone protest against Chinese government in Lhasa. He has since been handed over to the Sog (Ch: Suo) County Public Security Bureau (PSB) in Nagchu (Ch: Naqu) Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). This is Lodoe Gyatso’s second detention following his release from prison after 21 years in 2013.
A popular Tibetan singer named Amchok Phuljung was released late yesterday evening after serving more than four years in prison for singing songs in praise of the exiled Tibetan leaders including the Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Marthang (Ch: Hongyuan) County in Ngaba (Ch: Aba) Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, in the Tibetan province of Amdo.
Tsegon Gyal, 53, has been arbitrarily detained on unknown charges early this month by the local State Security Bureau officers in Tsojang (Ch: Haibei) ‘Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture’ (TAP) in Qinghai Province. His family members including his wife, daughter, and aging parents have not been allowed to meet him.
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) is pleased to learn that Ronggye A’drak, a Tibetan nomad who was imprisoned for staging a peaceful protest eight years ago, has been released after the completion of his sentence. Ronggye A’drak was released from prison and brought home by officials at around 1 am local time on 31 July in…
Tashi Rabten is a Tibetan writer and poet in the Tibetan province of Amdo, present-day Sichuan Province. He was released last year in March after serving a four-year sentence at Mianyang Prison in Sichuan. He was a student at the North-West University for Nationalities and wrote for the now-banned Tibetan language journal Shar Dungri (‘Eastern Conch Mountain’) and also published Trag-yig (‘Blood Letters’), a compilation of his poems, notes and writings on the situation in Tibet following the 2008 protests.
In a recent conversation that is being circulated on various social media sites, Tashi Rabten talks about his experiences as a university student and political prisoner, and his newfound faith in the power of poetry.
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) is pleased to announce the release of a new documentary movie titled ‘A Sacrifice’, shot and directed by Theo Hessing, a filmmaker based in London, UK.
The 26-minute long film depicts the life of Lhamo Kyab, a former political prisoner and now a political activist in exile. After his brief stay in exile, Lhamo returned to Tibet in 2006 with a mission to free his homeland from the Chinese occupation. He was subsequently arrested, imprisoned and tortured for three years in the dreaded Chushur Prison located in the outskirts of Lhasa city.
Apart from documenting the ordeals of a Tibetan political prisoner, the film captures the harrowing tale of self-immolation protests in Tibet and its impact on the Tibetan struggle for freedom.
A prominent Tibetan political prisoner, Jigme Gyatso, 52, was released recently after completing his 17 years’ prison term, according to exile Tibetan sources.
After his release, he is said to be in poor health struggling with multiple medical problems including weak eyesight, heart complications, kidney disorder and difficulty walking: all unmistakable signs that he had undergone years of torture, mistreatment and beatings during his imprisonment.
In April 2009, TCHRD issued an urgent statement calling for Jigme Gyatso’s release on medical grounds, after learning that Gyatso was seriously ill.[i] TCHRD’s concerns were based on the long history of Gyatso’s mistreatment and torture in detention centres and prisons in Tibet. Moreover, in February 2009, when relatives met Gyatso at Drapchi Prison Hospital, he appeared very frail and was suffering from a kidney problem. He could only walk with his back bended.
Tomorrow-25 June 2006- is UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) commemorates the day in support of victims of torture throughout the world. TCHRD hopes that a day will dawn when the practice of torture will be completely eradicated and the abusers brought to justice.
In Chinese occupied Tibet, torture is endemic in the network of prisons on the plateau. The systematic practice of torture is aimed to breakdown the spirit of nationalism of the Tibetan people. Towards this end, rampant use of torture has resulted in the death of 88 known Tibetan political prisoners since 1987. According to TCHRD’s documentation there are currently 132 known Tibetan political prisoners languishing in various prisons in Tibet. Torture being a regular feature in the Chinese administered prisons, the Centre is highly concerned about the well being of the political prisoners upon whom the worst of torture is afflicted. Electric shocks, pricking cigarettes on the face, hand or thumb cuffs, feet manacles, suspension from ceiling, exposure to extreme temperature, long period of solitary confinement, deprivation of food, water and sleep, forced labour and forced exercise drills are few of the torture techniques employed by the authorities to defeat the nationalist spirit of the Tibetans.
Tashi Topgyal, 50, was born in Thong Village, Yamo Township, Ngamring County, Shigatse Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region (“TAR”). He has three sons and does farming for their livelihood. Tashi learned carpentry when he was young and does carpentry works during free time between every harvest. He worked in construction sites and made wooden household furnitures.
In August 2002, several wall posters calling for Tibet’s independence were found pasted and scattered in the township market. An investigation team comprising of PSB officials from Ngamring County and Shigatse Prefecture carried out thorough investigations and interrogations to find the person responsible for the incident. The PSB team carried out thorough investigations in the neighbouring villages as well as interrogated all the people who were deemed suspicious. However, they could not find out the “culprit”.