Gyaltsen Kelsang was the tenth political prisoner after 1987 to have died shortly after being released on medical parole. Gyaltsen reportedly suffered severe beatings in Gutsa Detention Centre and then in Drapchi prison where she was transferred soon after her two year prison term was passed. She was consequently bed-ridden for more than 20 days in prison but received little…
Reports are continuously received of Tibetan nuns being particularly targeted for degrading treatment and inhumane torture methods in Chinese prisons in Tibet. Many of these women, pushed beyond their limits, suffer permanent mental or physical damage or even die. Kunchok Tsomo, a 25 year old nun from the town Meldro Gyama, under Lhasa city, was detained in Drapchi Prison for…
Gonpo Sonam, aged 61, passed away on the morning of December 23, 1987, soon after his release from Drapchi Prison. He was best known for his strong-willed determination to preserve and promote Tibetan culture. His conviction was impenetrable even while in detention which won him admiration from the Tibetan people and antagonism from Chinese authorities. However, undeterred, Gonpo continued with…
The latest reports have revealed a further five arrests in 1997, bringing the total number of known arrests in the year to 101. As with the majority of the arrests recorded for 1997, these five new cases involve monks who have shown support for the Dalai Lama or Tibetan independence. On the night of August 18, 1997, two monks from…
Since 1986 when the People’s Republic of China signed the United Nations Convention Against Torture, 52 Tibetan political prisoners are now known to have died as a result of torture by police or prison officials. The actual figure could be far more as visits to Tibet’s prisons, if permitted, are carefully directed, and information of prisoners is smuggled out of…
A 20 member Chinese “Re-education” work-team arrived at Gangen choekor monastery in Namliing township, Namling county, on 29 June, 1996. This was, according to former monk Lhundup Jinpa, “the beginning of chaos in the monastery,” and has led to prison sentences, expulsions and even a suicide in the monastery. When the work team arrived at our monastery to conduct the…
In previous Human Rights Updates we have profiled some of the hundreds of Tibetan current political prsioners on this page. This year we will be profiling who have sacrificed their life for Tibet; detained as political prisoners, these individuals have died from torture, sickness or prolonged detention. Geshe Lobsang Wangchuk, a renowned scholar, wrote various treatises on Tibetan history and…
Prior to Chinese occupation in 1949, Tibet’s capital was more like a town than a city. Covering just three square km, Lhasa (meaning literally “good place”) was the most sacred religious site for all Tibetans and was filled with pilgrims and traders. Today Lhasa’s Chinese- initiated urban growth has resulted in 51 square km crowded with Chinese Karaoke bars, brothels,…