In May this year, the Nangchen County People’s Court sentenced the 21 Tibetans in two groups. The first group of 11 Tibetans from Do Thrang village in Shordha town were sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to six years and monetary fines from 10000 to 50000 yuan.
Chinese authorities released a Tibetan man named Sherphel from prison after almost five years in Serthar (Ch: Seda) County in Kardze (Ch: Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province.
Sherphel was released last year on 25 November after serving four years and ten months in prison for taking part in a protest against Chinese rule in Serthar County in 2012. The news of Sherphel’s release took time in reaching the outside world due to security clampdown including restrictions on sharing information in Tibet. Upon his arrival home in Onsa Village in Shomar Township, he was greeted by his family members and friend Samdup who was also released the same year in August.
Against the backdrop of the legal reforms that took place in 2014 aiming to make courts less corrupt, there has been an unprecedented crackdown on human rights lawyers in the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Approximately 120 lawyers, and more than 50 support staff, family members and activists, have been rounded up and arrested across the country since the morning…
In preparation for the 50th founding anniversary of Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), the Chinese authorities have begun implementing the ‘Clean Sweep and Strike’ (Ch: da jian cha) campaign ostensibly to provide security to postal activities. Under this campaign, the TAR authorities will monitor and surveil postal exchanges between Beijing and TAR, and monitor and prohibit arms and ammunitions, knives, explosives, including dangerous chemicals, and also leaflets and other political publications. Even remote-controlled toys such as miniature planes will be banned from flying particularly in the urban skyscape. The Internet activities will come under increased surveillance.
Chinese authorities have arbitrarily detained husband of Sangyal Tso, the mother of two who died of self-immolation late last month in Dokhog (Ch: Daogao) Township in Chone (Ch: Zhuoni) County, Kanlho (Ch: Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province, in the Tibetan province of Amdo.
According to information received by TCHRD, on 10 June 2015 police detained Tadrin Wangyal, husband of Sangay Tso, along with a monk named Trinley Gyatso, a resident of Gyache village in Nyinpa Township, Chone County. The security officers who carried out the detentions gave no reasons but local Tibetan residents speculate that they have been arrested on account of the police’s suspicion that they were connected to Sangay Tso’s self-immolation.
With the detention of Tadrin Wangyal and Trinley Gyatso, the number of known Tibetans detained following Sangyal Tso’ self-immolation has grown to five including three other monks who, as TCHRD reported earlier, were detained following the self-immolation. The three monks are Tenzin Soepa, a nephew of Sangyal Tso, and two other monks, Samten Gyatso and Lobsang Tenzin. All five of them are being held at a detention center in Chone County.
Chinese security forces have stepped up their repression of Drong Na Monastery whose principal chant master was recently sentenced in secret to 18 years in prison in Diru (Ch; Biru) County in Nagchu (Ch: Naqu) Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), in the Tibetan province of Kham.
Thardoe Gyaltsen, the monastery’s principal chant master was sentenced on an unknown date in January 2014 even as other monks were forced to stop their religious activities, shut down their monastic quarters and an unknown number were also detained. The monastery has about 90 monks. Gyaltsen was detained in December 2013 but his family members and relatives had no clue on the location of his detention. It is not clear on what charges he was sentenced.
Local Tibetans are of the view that Gyaltsen was primarily targeted for starting Tibetan language and culture classes in the monastery, which became quite popular as around 300 students attended these classes. “The classes have made enormous contribution in preserving and promoting Tibetan language and culture in the local area. Therefore under various pretexts of committing political crimes, the Chinese authorities forced [the monastery] to shut down the classes, with the aim of preventing the study of Tibetan language and culture. The police just barged into the monastery, ordered monks to close down their residences and detained chant master Thardoe Gyaltsen on charges of committing political crimes,” said the source. At present, no religious activities such as holding daily prayer sessions are allowed at the monastery.
China has launched a crackdown on local Tibetans who had organised a religious ceremony to observe the birthday of Tibetan spiritual leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama last month in Tawu (Ch: Dawu/Daofu) County in Kardze (Ch: Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, in the Tibetan province of Kham.
On 6 July 2013, China’s People’s Armed Police (PAP) beat and fired teargas and live ammunition on hundreds of Tibetans who had gathered near Machen Pomra Mountain in Tawu to offer the ritual of incense-burning to celebrate the birthday of the Dalai Lama. At least 14 known Tibetans were injured in the firing and others were detained.
Since then, local authorities in Tawu have intensified surveillance and monitoring of local Tibetans and announced strict punitive measures against local officials and cadres for failing to ‘maintain stability’. Local authorities have vowed to crack down on any signs of ‘separatist’ sentiments and activities by implementing five major ‘stability maintenance’ measures in Tawu County, according to a report published in the official Ganzi Daily newspaper. (Also click here for related report in Chinese language)
A popular Tibetan writer and four others have been sentenced to prison early this month by Chinese authorities in Nyagchu (Ch: Yajiang) County in Kardze (Ch: Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province.
On 1 August 2013, the County People’s Court in Nyagchu County sentenced the writer, Gangkye Drupa Kyab, to five years and six months in prison for alleged political activities. Four other Tibetan men were also sentenced. Samdup received five years’ prison term while Sheygyal and Yudrang each were sentenced to two years. Drensel received three years prison sentence, according to information obtained by Tibet Express, an exile Tibetan newspaper.
All of them were sentenced for allegedly being members of a secret political group called “Marshog Ngogol Tsogpa” (Anti-Communist Party Association). Both Samdup, 32, and Yudrang were detained on 13 June 2012.
The Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) recently received and published a summary of a manual it published by the Sichuan Provincial Political Department of the People’s Armed Police Force. The manual consists of 29 questions and answers on how the People’s Armed Police Force can cope with the psychological trauma caused by the violent nature of the People’s Armed Police Force in Tibetan areas of Sichuan. TCHRD presents an analysis of the manual by Matthew Akester.
Matthew Akester is a translator of classical and modern literary Tibetan with 25 years of experience as an independent researcher throughout the Tibetan world. He has worked as a consultant and contributor for the Tibet Information Network, Human Rights Watch, Tibet Heritage Fund, and Tibetan Buddhist Resource Center. He is an advisor, editor, and translator for countless publications on Tibet in English, French, and Tibetan.
The relentless crackdown on self-immolation protests in Tibet continued when Chinese authorities sentenced two Tibetan monks to three years in prison for holding religious rituals and prayer services for a Tibetan man who died of self-immolation protest in November last year in Kangtsa Township in Yadzi (Ch: Xunhua) Salar Autonomous County in Tsoshar (Ch: Haidong) Prefecture, Qinghai Province. The Chinese authorities deemed this exercise of the monks’ fundamental rights criminal pursuant to a 2012 guideline on handling self-immolations.
Wangchen Norbu, 25, died during a self-immolation protest on 19 November last year. As he burned, Wangchen Norbu called for an end to Chinese repression and demanded the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet, freedom in Tibet, and the release of the 11th Panchen Lama, and all the Tibetan political prisoners.