26 June is the UN International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) joins initiatives across the world to end torture and create a safer world for all to exercise human rights and fundamental freedoms. Torture is one of the persistent human rights issues in Tibet owing to China’s routine practice of…
Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) condemns in strongest terms the framing of Tulku Phurbu Tsering Rinpoche on weapon charges related to last year’s peaceful protests in Kardze (Ch: Ganzi). This is the first known case of senior Buddhist leader being tried in court with a serious charge linked to last year’s demonstration.
A highly revered religious figure of Kardze, Phurbu Tsering Rinpoche, 52, who headed Pangri and Ya-tseg Nunneries in Kardze was accused of ‘illegally possessing weapons’, his Beijing based lawyer Li Fangping was quoted as saying to the Associated Press (AP) in a telephone interview on Tuesday. Rinpoche could face imprisonment for up to 15 years if found guilty by the Kardze Prefecture Intermediate People’s Court.
The Chinese government has commuted the death sentence on Trulku Tenzin Delek to life imprisonment. “ The Higher People’s Court in Sichuan province, in Southwestern China, commuted the death penalty with two-year reprieve for a Tibetan monk involve in terrorist bombings to life term on Wednesday”, Xinhua, the official news agency of the People’s Republic of China reported.
The court verdict also said, “A’an Zhaxi, also known as Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, was deprived of his political rights for life, which was handed down to him during the day.”
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) believes that the verdict was widely expected considering past record of such similar cases. Despite the news of a life sentence for Trulku, TCHRD strongly urges the Chinese government to conduct a fair re-trial while allowing Trulku legal representation of his own choosing.