Recently the Lhasa Intermediate People's Court handed down harsh sentences to a group of 30 Tibetans on 29 April 2008. The state media, Xinhua, in its latest report "Judges and lawyers: Rioters in Lhasa unrest receive fair trial" released on 1 May claims "They [the Tibetans] were convicted of arson, robbery, creating disturbance, assembling to assault state organs, preventing state personnel from carrying out their functions and theft."

The nature of the court proceedings and the official interpretation of the Tibetans' activities obviously brings forward the questions of competency of the court and the official downplaying of the nature of the Tibetan activities. The Lhasa fast-track court, in a record one and half month's time, handed down life imprisonment terms to three Tibetans (Pasang, Sonam Tsering and Tsering), between 15-20 years prison term to seven others, and the rest received terms ranging from three to 15 years. The sentencing is a clear mockery of law and due process. In light of the fact that due process involves filing of documents, engaging independent lawyers, case verification, consultations from both the parties, non-extraction of confession through torture, etc., in a state with rule of law, the purpose and nature of the court in Lhasa obviously is only to provide a legal rubber stamp on preconcluded convictions without the concept of innocent until proven guilty.

The fact that one of the Tibetans is seen sitting on a chair during the court session indicates torture and inhumane treatment in detention, which is blindly denied by the Chinese authorities. Tibetans arrested for political crimes are subjected to the worst torture and ill treatment by the police in detention centres in order to extract confessions and break down their nationalist sentiments. In light of the usual inhumane practices by the police in Chinese-administered detention centres and prisons, and the fact that in the officially-released picture one Tibetan is sitting on a chair in the court, brings forward the high probability of use of torture and inhumane treatment met out to the defendants. In further details provided in the Chinese language report of the same court hearing, Migmar Dolma the lawyer for Lobsang Samten is quoted as saying "On 17 April, I went to see my client. Upon entering the detention centre, two doctors were attending the prisoners. At that time around 10 prisoners were being treated and two of the prisoners were on IV drip." This statement by the lawyer corroborates the high probability of severe beatings on the Tibetans in the detention centre.

While it is widely known that the Tibetans were sentenced for showing their political dissent, the state media has downplayed the whole nature of their activities as petty criminal offenses by projecting the cases as that of looting, arson, theft, rioting etc., rather than acts of _expression_ of political dissidence. However, Article 293 of China's Criminal Law stipulates a "fixed- term imprisonment of not more than five years, criminal detention or public surveillance" for acts "creating disturbances, thus disrupting public disorder". But the state media states that three Tibetans were sentenced to life imprisonment, seven were given 15-20 years prison sentences, while the remaining Tibetans were sentenced to prison terms of 3-14 years. Clearly the harshness of sentences handed down indicate that it is not a case of petty criminal activity only, but involves the larger issue of political dissidence -- which the state media deliberately fails to mention.

The pan-Tibet protests since 10 March 2008 are spontaneous reactions by the Tibetans inside Tibet who have for long time suffered brutality and oppression at the hands of the authorities. Tibetans from all walks of life and age groups have participated in this revolt. For instance, Passang, one of the Tibetans who was sentenced to life imprisonment in the recent court hearing, is an ordinary monk at the Dingkha Monastery in Dechen Township, Toelung Dechen County, Lhasa City, "Tibet Autonomous Region". On 17 March 2008 around 3 pm (Beijing Standard Time), he along with 12 monks from the monastery went to the Township market and raised pro-independence slogans. As a mark of their political statement they brought out goods from the shops of Chinese settlers and set them on fire. They were later arrested by the People's Armed Police, and eye-witnesses saw 30 Tibetans including the monks being severely beaten by the PAP officers and thrown into the police vehicle like sand bags.

The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) views the Lhasa Intermediate People's Court's sentencing of the 30 Tibetans to be arbitrary and summary execution of judicial process. Judicial process is misused as an official reprisal by the Chinese authorities instead of protection of fundamental human rights of the Tibetans. TCHRD expresses its concern at the sub-standard legal proceedings in Chinese-occupied Tibet, and fears the worst scenarios for the Tibetan protesters who actively exercised their fundamental human rights of freedom of opinion and _expression_ in the past two months.