Prisoners of Tibet

Introduction: The right to life, liberty and security of a person is a fundamental right entrenched in Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The following pages illustrate the cases of people held in prison for merely exercising their fundamental human rights. ...

Background: Almost three decades after the 1959 national uprising by the people of Tibet against Chinese aggression, the Chinese government had abandoned the possibility of another uprising. Therefore the demonstrations that occurred in 1987 not only exposed the potential threat for the Chinese government of their stability in Tibet but also became a catalyst for further series of similar outbreaks. ...

Profiles of Current Political Prisoners: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Endnotes

Index of Names

The right to life, liberty and security of a person is a fundamental right entrenched in Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The following pages illustrate the cases of people held in prison for merely exercising their fundamental human rights. This usually takes the form of small peaceful demonstrations and the distribution or display of materials calling for the respect of human rights and Tibet's independence. Many of these individuals have already served long sentences deprived of their freedoms; for some this may be the second or third time they have been imprisoned. Chinese authorities have made modifications to the Criminal Procedure Law (CPL) by replacing `counter-revolutionary' with `offences against state security.' Introduction of new criminal laws targeted at crushing `terrorist' activity in Tibet is vaguely worded, thus more open to wider interpretation. Reports of Tibetans arrested for alleged `espionage' activities on behalf of the Tibetan Government-in-Exile indicates a complete absence of any supporting evidence other than the fact that they had visited India for a number of reasons, mainly for pilgrimage.

Within the decade of the 1980's, the Chinese government adopted two policies that are drastically different. In the early 1980's, the Chinese government had relaxed its hold on Tibet and was giving Tibetans more religious and economic freedoms. This coincided with the opening of Tibet to the outside world. However in 1988, China imposed Martial Law in Lhasa after Tibetans protested Chinese occupation in Tibet through a massive demonstration. Since the imposition of Martial Law, the Chinese government has controlled the flow of information to and from Tibet. It was owing to the presence of foreign visitors at the 1987 demonstrations that the world was made aware of the massive human rights abuses in Tibet for the first time. The need of foreign observers in Tibet is essential in order to scrutinise China's human rights violations in Tibet. Unfortunately, the Chinese authorities appear determined to prevent this scrutiny. The total number of political prisoners detained cannot be determined with any great precision.

The term `political prisoner' used here is not accepted by the Chinese authorities, who maintain that no one can be detained solely on account of their views or opinions. However, this statement is not consistent with Chinese legislation which defines crimes of counter-revolution under the Chinese Criminal Code (1980) as "all acts endangering the PRC committed with the goal of overthrowing the political power of the dictatorship of the proletariat and the socialist system" (Article 90). As you read the profiles, you will find that virtually all tried prisoners listed have been charged because they dared to exercise their right to freedom of expression. This acts have been interpreted as plotting to "dismember the state" (article 92) and "inciting the masses to resist or sabotage the implementation of the state's laws or decrees" (article 102, paragraph 1). As noted elsewhere, the updating of State Security Laws and Public Security Laws in 1993-94, has strengthened the legal grounds of detention for offences such as "spreading rumours" and "stealing state secrets." In March 1995, the Chinese authorities introduced specific adaptations of these instructions for Tibet. Examination of trial documents from Tibet shows that, for example, privately compiled lists of prisoners are considered "state secrets." Prisoners accused of `counter-revolutionary offences' in Tibet, who in most cases have neither used nor threatened to use violence, can therefore be reasonably described as political prisoners. The categories under which prisoners are listed describe the circumstances leading to their arrest. This reveals that the two largest categories of offence are demonstrating and distributing leaflets.

Reasons for Arrest

The detainees are normally kept under three categories. When the Public Security Bureau (PSB) first detains them, prisoners are put in a police lock-up or detention centre, and held without charge. A procuratorate then investigates their cases; this can take three months or longer. Following this, the prisoner is either:

released without charge.
sentenced without trial to a `re-education through labour' unit usually for two to three years, extendable to four years by law, and apparently four and a half years in practise in some cases.
"arrested," i.e. charged with an offence and sentenced.

After the court sentences the prisoner, he or she is then transferred to either a regular prison or a `re-education through labour' unit to serve his or her sentence.

Pre-trial Detention: The revised CPL eliminated the sixth form of pre-trial detention known as `shelter and investigation'(Chinese: shourong shencha). This elimination may appear to be a major setback for the police, however, the decision of the National People's Congress (NPC) in 1996 is alleged to be conveniently accommodating similar kind of abuse of power. Firstly, the standard of arrest has been relaxed. Instead of having to produce clarification on the principal facts of the crime, under Article 60 of the revised CPL an arrest can be authorised if there is "evidence to prove the facts of the crime". Secondly, the provisions in the CPL for pre-trial detention have been expanded to include the categories of persons to which "shelter and investigation" was meant for. Thirdly the period of detention have been increased from seven days to thirty and finally the period within which the procuratorate must make its decision whether or not to authorise arrest has been lengthened, from three to seven days. Moreover, there are provisions in the CPL granting police greater leeway to detain suspects prior to trial. It is during this period of detention that `suspects' are susceptible to the worst kind of treatment without being given an effective opportunity to have his or her case heard promptly by a judicial or similar authority.

Often little information is available about political prisoners, due to the difficulty that surrounds the ability to acquire information following their arrest. Monitoring information on prisoners is difficult due to the isolation of political prisoners, the secrecy surrounding political trials, and the lack of response from the Chinese authorities. The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) considers all political prisoners in Tibet to be arbitrarily detained. As of August 2000, there are approximately 500 known Tibetan political prisoners in Chinese administered prisons in Tibet, out of which 233 are known to be serving prison sentences of five years and above.

Using this Book

Prisoners of Tibet is designed to be used as an informative literature and reference material. The index lists all current political prisoners, who are serving five years or more. A direct lead is given next to a name or an event for further details. Although this might prove tedious at times, it was intended to avoid repetition. Also, for detailed information on all those political prisoners who have died as a direct result of torture in prisons, the Centre has produced a report in Tibetan featuring death profiles on political prisoners.

Although, it is difficult for TCHRD to obtain specific details on political prisoners, we have however tried to be as accurate as possible. This is particularly due to the flow of information coming from Tibet, multiple names and ambiguity from informers. In addition, the Tibetan Calendar runs different from the Gregorian Calendar. When TCHRD receives information regarding specific dates, such as a prisoner's arrest or trial it is difficult to determine if the dates referred to are Tibetan or Gregorian.

Former political prisoners, who are the major source of information, are often unable to give specific information of the events they have experienced or witnessed. Moreover, many of them often want to forget the time that they have spent in prison, owing to the incessant and brutal torture undergone by them. In view of these realities, TCHRD is continuously updating and correcting its information on political prisoners.

Due to the obstacles faced in obtaining information, several profiles are brief or lack political reasons for arrest. By conducting interviews with former political prisoners reaching Nepal or India, TCHRD has been able to document current political prisoners in Tibet. However, details on the prisoners are still lacking in a number of cases. This report will only include information available on current political prisoners serving five years or more.

This report is dedicated to all those Tibetans who risk their lives to defend human rights for Tibetans.

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