TCHRD has been informed by a reliable source that Chinese security forces detained 60 Tibetans on 23 August from Wonpo village in Dzachuka area and took them for a two-day interrogation 70 km away in Sershul (Ch: Shiqu) County, Kardze (Ch: Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, in the Tibetan province of Kham.
The Communist Party of China’s Central Propaganda Department announced the launch of a campaign to crack down on illegal online activities and fake news.
The use of torture to extract confessions from political detainees was rampant despite prohibitions against it in Chinese Criminal Procedure Law. Since Tibetan detainees are mostly charged with national security crimes, they are held incommunicado for months and sometimes never again found alive.
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) is deeply concerned about the new National Security Law that was released in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on 1 July 2015. As a human rights organization, TCHRD believes that this new law will enable Chinese authorities to further justify the human rights abuses that continue to take place for Tibetans today.
The new National Security Law does not make any concessions to human rights, rule of law, or the interests of other States or peoples. Instead, the National Security Law relies on broad and vague language to announce that the PRC will confront and fight-back against any perceived threat. This is a continuation of failed policies that do not seek to peacefully settle disputes, and simply exacerbate problems in the PRC instead.
Despite paying lip service to human rights in four articles (Articles 7, 16, 27 and 83), the National Security Law takes the position that is hostile to basic human rights protections. For example, Article 27 says that the PRC protects freedom of religion but then lists duties and responsibilities for religious management, including opposing foreign influence and interference. The PRC views any acknowledgment of the Dalai Lama, including possession of his teachings, praying for his long life or celebrating his birthday, as counter to the Party. For monks, such as Tsangyang Gyatso, the charge of “contacting outsiders” can result in long prison sentences.
Three Tibetan businessmen and a young poet have been given harsh prison terms in Diru (Ch: Biru) County in Nagchu (Ch: Naqu) Perfecture, Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).
The three businessmen identified as Sonam Dharwang, Lhanam and Tsering Lhadup, were each sentenced to eight years, while poet Tenzin Kalsang received seven years of imprisonment in May 2015, according to information received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).
The businessmen are natives of Kado Village in Choenyi (or Lhenchu) Township in Diru Country in the eastern Tibetan province of Kham. They were charged of ‘inciting quarrels among the public’ and ‘opposing the government’.
There is no information on where the four sentenced Tibetans are held and in what condition. The details of their trials and sentencing are not immediately available.