John Gaudette (middle) speaks alongside UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion and belief Mr Heiner Bielefeldt
On 21 April 2016, the second talk in the TCHRD’s United States Tibet Talk Series was at the International Campaign for Tibet’s offices in Washington D.C. The first talk in the series was hosted with the Nanda Center for International Law at the University of Denver on 17 February. The most recent conference, “Tibetan Political Prisoners: Rights and Responses” was a panel discussion with ICT’s Andrea Worden and Sophie Richardson from Human Rights Watch and moderated by TCHRD’s John Gaudette.
A Tibetan man named Tsekho died of self-immolation protest in the nomadic town of Meruma (Ch: Maierma) in Ngaba (Ch:Aba) County, Ngaba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, in the Tibetan province…
Shonu Palden on hospital bed in a photo taken in October 2017
Chinese authorities released a Tibetan man from prison before the completion of his term to avoid responsibility for his imminent death due to torture injuries. Meanwhile his daughter has been refused school admission because her father had engaged in political activities in the past.
Shonu Palden, 40, was released on 24 July 2013 before the completion of his prison term. He was released early, having served only a little over a year of his two years and nine months sentence, because continued incarceration would have led to his death in prison. Since his early release, he has undergone two massive surgeries in a local hospital to treat various health complications including a serious heart condition he developed in detention. He suffers from blocked arteries, weak eyesight, and breathing and hearing problems.
Earlier this month, Chinese authorities sent two monks, Gendun Dakpa and Lobsang Sherab, to prison for allegedly ‘sharing information with outsiders’ and ‘inciting separatism’ in Ngaba (Ch: Aba) Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture,…
A Tibetan monk named Jamyang Losel died of self-immolation protest yesterday in Chentsa (Ch: Jianzha) County, Malho (Ch: Huangnan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, in the Tibetan province of Amdo. Jamyang, 22, died…
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) condemns the illegal and incommunicado detention of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche’s relatives and calls for immediate investigation into the death of Rinpoche in Chuangdong Prison near Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Information received by TCHRD confirms the arbitrary detention of Rinpoche’s sister Dolkar Lhamo, age 52, and niece Nyima Lhamo, age 25, at an undisclosed location after they submitted a petition calling for an investigation into circumstances leading to Rinpoche’s death. Both women were detained on 17 July from a restaurant in Chengdu by police officers from Lithang County, located in Tibetan province of Kham. They have not been heard or seen since then.
Nyima Lhamo
TCHRD believes that both relatives have been detained in connection with their sustained campaign to call for the release of Rinpoche’s remains and for calling on the Chinese authorities to launch an impartial investigation into the death of Rinpoche in prison. The petition has been widely shared and circulated by exile Tibetan organisations and submitted by TCHRD to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and relevant Special Procedures division including Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief; Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; and Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly.
Rinpoche’s relatives did not deserve arbitrary detention and the psychological and physical harm associated with it; they submitted a petition calling for an impartial investigation into the death of Rinpoche. Submitting petitions to challenge the arbitrary use of power by government agencies does not break any law, therefore, the officers who detained them must be made accountable for their unlawful actions.
Tenzin Delek Rinpoche’s death was the result of a series of human rights violations. Even after his death, the government of People’s Republic of China (PRC) still has human rights obligations that it is legally obliged to follow. After ignoring its legal obligations and Tenzin Delek Rinpoche’s rights to be protected from arbitrary detention, torture, cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, and arbitrary or extrajudicial killings, the PRC should investigate Tenzin Delek Rinpoche’s death and make the results of the investigation public.
A prominent Tibetan reincarnate lama and philanthropist Tenzin Delek Rinpoche died at the age of 65 while serving life imprisonment at a prison near Chengdu, capital of Sichuan Province, People’s Republic of China.
Tenzin Delek Rinpoche was a highly-respected religious leader in Lithang County, Kardze (Ch: Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan Province, in the Tibetan province of Kham. He was renowned for his active involvement in the restoration of Tibetan culture and religion, social welfare activities and his outspoken criticisms against Chinese policies. On 5 December 2002, Rinpoche and his nephew Lobsang Dhondup were sentenced to death with two years’ reprieve and death sentence respectively for masterminding a series of bomb blast incidents at Tianfu Square in Chengdu. Lobsang Dhondup was executed but Rinpoche’s suspended death sentence was commuted to life due to international pressure.
Tenzin Delek Rinpoche had been held in detention for over thirteen years since his conviction in December 2002 for a crime he never committed.
According to reliable sources inside Tibet, on 2 July 2015 three officials from the Political and Legal Affairs Commission of Lithang County had come to meet Rinpoche’s sisters Donkar Lhamo and Sonam Dekyi asking them to leave with them for Chengdu to discuss the issue of Tenzin Delek.
Mother of two, Sangyal Tso, died of self-immolation protest.
A Tibetan woman set herself on fire and died immediately after in Dokhog (Ch: Daogao) Township in Chone (Ch: Zhuoni) County, Kanlho (Ch: Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province, in the Tibetan province of Amdo.
Sangyal Tso, 36, a mother of two, staged the self-immolation protest at around 4 am (local time) on 27 May, in front of a Chinese government office, which is located near Choephel Shing Tashi Choekorling Monastery in Dokhog Township.
Since the incident occurred early morning, no confirmed information is available on the exact slogans Sangyal Tso shouted during her self-immolation protest. She died instantly after the protest and the police took her body to Tsoe (Ch: Hezuo) city, capital of Kanlho Prefecture.
Police also arrived at the home of Sangyal Tso’s parents who were interrogated and restrictions were placed on their movement. Sources say moments before her self-immolation, Sangyal Tso had communicated on WeChat voice messaging service at about 3.30 am, following which her parents contacted friends and relatives to find out about their daughter’s whereabouts but in vain.
Palden Thinley was released after seven years in prison.
A Tibetan monk who was recently released after completing a seven-year prison term is in critical condition following injuries suffered during detention and lack of medical care in prison.
Palden Thinley, 26, was released from Deyang prison on the afternoon of 17 May 2015 in Kardze (Ch: Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, in the Tibetan province of Kham, according to information received by Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).
On the day of his release, prison authorities handed over Palden Thinley to County Public Security Bureau (PSB) officers in Kardze apparently to prevent local Tibetans from giving him a hero’s welcome. At around 3 am on 18 May 2015, the Kardze County PSB handed over Thinley to Dhato Township PSB, who in turn secretly summoned his family at night to pick him up.
