Annex 2
REPERCUSSIONS OF PRISON VISITS IN TIBET BY
INTERNATIONAL DELEGATIONS
There have been more than 50 visits of official
international delegations to Tibet since the early 1990s. Many
of these delegations have been allowed access to the Tibet Autonomous
Region's Number One prison, Drapchi in Lhasa. It has not been
possible for these delegations to ensure the safety of prisoners
following their departure from the prison, despite official assurances.
In most cases, we do not know if people who have spoken to members
of foreign delegations have been punished. However, in a number
of cases involving visits to the main prison in Lhasa, there has
been information about the consequences of official visits as
follows:
1. In April 1991 five prisoners attempted
to pass a letter about prison conditions to James Lilley, then
the US Ambassador to China, while he was visiting Drapchi Prison
in Lhasa. The Ambassador accepted the letter but then allowed
a Chinese interpreter to take it from him. After his departure
the prisoners were severely beaten and removed for the rest of
their sentences to a prison 350 kms away. The incident led to
about 30 other prisoners also being beaten, some of them severely,
and being placed in solitary confinement for about one month each.
2. In December 1991 at the same prison an
elderly Tibetan tried to shout to the Swiss Ambassador to China,
while he was leaving the main prison in Lhasa. The Ambassador
was aware of the incident and later enquired about the welfare
of the prisoner. The prisoner, Tanak Jigme Zangpo, was beaten,
tortured and later received an eight year sentence extension for
the incident. Jigme Zangpo (Tanak is a family name) was subjected
to severe beatings in 1998 following his involvement in the May
1998 prison protests at Drapchi.
3. In October 1997 a Tibetan prisoner shouted
a pro-independence slogan during the visit to Drapchi prison by
members of the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. Two other
prisoners were said to be involved in subsequent protests at the
prison. The delegation sought guarantees from the prison authorities
that the Tibetans would not be punished for the incidents. TIN
later received the information that the three men had their prison
sentences extended by between three and 10 years for the incident,
despite the UNWGAD appeals.
4. Severe reprisals were meted out to political
and criminal prisoners for their participation in peaceful protests
at Drapchi prison on 1 and 4 May 1998, which led to the deaths
of at least nine prisoners. The protests began when a prisoner,
who is now said to have been executed, shouted a pro-independence
slogan during a meeting held in Drapchi prison in preparation
for a visit to the prison by a group of Beijing-based ambassadors
of European Union countries to China. People's Armed Police personnel
equipped with rifles and batons were called into the prison after
this demonstration. A second protest on 4 May, the same day as
the visit of the EU delegation, was suppressed by prison guards
and PAP personnel who were stationed inside the prison compound.
The ambassadors reported that they were not aware of any increased
security at the prison during their visit.
|
