Trulku Phurbu Tsering Rinpoche

The Kardze (Ch: Ganzi) Intermediate People’s Court in Dartsedo (Ch: Kangding) on 23 December 2009 sentenced renowned Tibetan lama, Tulku Phurbu Tsering Rinpoche to 8 years and six months in prison, according to the latest information received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) from reliable sources.

According to source, a day before the court trial some family members and relatives of Tulku were informed by the Court on the trial and subsequently more than five members attended the trial at Kardze Intermediate People’s Court on 23 December to hear the verdict. There is no clear information available on the crimes under which Tulku was convicted. The two Beijing based defense lawyers who earlier represented Tulku were not present during the court sentencing but sources confirmed that a new defense lawyer was presented in the court. Tulku is currently known to be detained at Dartsedo Public Security Bureau (PSB) Detention Centre.

Tulku Phurbu Tsering Rinpoche, 52, is a highly regarded reincarnated Tulku of Tehor Kardze Monastery in Kardze County, Kardze “TAP”, Sichuan Province. He is the chief spiritual preceptor and the head of Pangri and Ya-tseg Nunneries in Kardze. A charismatic figure who was a source of inspiration and hope had constructed an old age people’s home and opened two chemist shops for the local Tibetans.

The arrest of Phurbu Tsering is more likely connected to an incident that had occurred on 14 May 2008, four days before his arrest, when around 80 nuns from Pangri and Ya-tseg nunneries took to the streets to carry out a peaceful protest against the Chinese government’s ‘patriotic education” campaign, which pressured Tibetans to denounce the Dalai Lama, Tibet’s spiritual leader. According to the latest information coming out area indicates that there are only few nuns left in Pangri-na Nunnery after the protest and restrictions that followed.

There was no information on Tulku Phurbu Tsering since his arrest last year until the case of his trial emerged on 21 April 2009 when one of his Beijing based Chinese lawyers, Li Fangping said in an interview with the Associated Press that the Ganzi Intermediate People’s Court in Dartsedo had put Tulku on trial on the charge of illegally possessing weapons. Prosecutors say a pistol and more than 100 bullets and cartridges were found under a bed in Phurbu Tsering Rinpoche’s living room during a police raid. However, the defense lawyer said that Tulku was framed and described the charge as “untenable” as police didn’t ask him about the source of the weapons or fingerprints on it.

Tulku was reportedly tortured for four days and nights and coerced into making a confession during his detention at Drango (Ch: Luhuo) County Detention Centre. Police even threatened his wife and son of detention if Tulku did not comply according to his lawyer. Such confession extracted through torture is not admissible in the court to prosecute against the suspect as these actions violates the fundamental international norm and violates article 43 of the revised Criminal Procedure Law that states, “ the use of torture to coerce statements and the gathering of evidence by threats, enticement, deceit or other unlawful methods are strictly prohibited.”

The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy condemns in strongest terms over the court verdict. The centre calls for the international community to intervene in the unfair sentencing of Tulku who the Centre believed was sentenced under flimsy charges with evidence extracted through torture in violation of the Chinese Criminal Procedure Law and other international laws.