Dharamshala — Tibetans and human rights activists on Wednesday commemorated the 37th anniversary of the United Nations Convention against Torture and called on the Chinese government to conduct a transparent investigation into the death of Trulku Tenzin Delek Rinpoche and prosecute Chinese officials responsible for his torture and death.
Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, Tibetan Youth Congress, Students for a Free Tibet and Tibetan Women's Association commemorated the 37th anniversary of the United Nations Convention against Torture, on Junw 26, 2024, at the hall of Tibetan Settlement Office, Mcleod Ganj, Dharamshala, HP, India. They invited five former Tibetan political prisoners to speak about human rights violations in Tibet committed by the Chinese government and the torture and inhuman treatment they suffered in Chinese prisons while serving their sentences.
The former Tibetan political prisoners are Geshe Tsering Dorje, a student of the late Trulku Tenzin Delek, who arrested by Chinese authorities in 1987 and released in 1996, then rearrested in 1997 and released in 1998; Lobsang Yonten, who was imprisoned around 1959 for more than a decade; Geshe Ngawang Delek, who was imprisoned for the 1987 protest; and Gendun Rinchen, a tourist guide in Lhasa, who was arrested from his home in 1993, for preparing to hand over letters about human rights to a group of visiting European Community (EC) diplomats. Sherab Gyatso was also arrested in 2003 by Chinese government.
Tenzin Dawa, Executive Director of the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, gave an introductory speech on the day and the human rights situation of Tibetans, particularly political prisoners in Tibet. She said, " On the 37th anniversary of the entry into force of the United Nations Convention Against Torture, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy,Tibetan Youth Congress, Students for Free Tibet and Tibetan Women’s Association solemnly commemorates and pays tribute to Tibetan human rights defenders, dissidents, and activists who have endured and continue to endure torture- the severest form of human rights abuse".
"In Tibet, torture is endemic in the network of prisons and detention centres across the plateau. Electric shocks, beatings, handcuffs, foot manacles, aerial suspension, exposure to extreme temperatures, prolonged solitary confinement, and deprivation of food, water, and sleep are just a few of the techniques commonly used by Chinese authorities to crush the spirit of Tibetan political prisoners. As severe as the physical wounds are, the psychological and emotional scars are often the most devastating and challenging to heal. A subtle form of mental torture is also inflicted on former political prisoners in Tibet. Life after prison is made extremely difficult for them: their children are often expelled from school, their government benefits are revoked, and they are constantly harassed, leaving them with no prospects for employment. Many Tibetan torture survivors suffer from recurring nightmares and flashbacks," she explained.
"Today, we sheds light explicitly on the harrowing case of Trulku Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, a venerated Tibetan religious and community leader wrongfully incarcerated and subjected to brutal torture. He eventually passed away in Chinese custody after enduring 13 years of egregious detention and was also denied appropriate medical care in prison," Miss Dawa said.
"The evidence of Rinpoche being subjected to torture during his detention, which led to his untimely death, is a clear violation of Article 5 of the UDHR, which states: "No one should be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment". It is also a blatant disregard of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT), which the PRC ratified in 1988. The UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (SMR) defines sound principles and practices for treating prisoners. Article 22 of the SMR states that all prisoners should receive adequate medical care, which has never been applied to Tibetan prisoners, certainly not in the case of Trulku Tenzin Delek," she added.
The excutive of the human rights organisation said, "Additionally, under International Human Rights Law, states are obligated to conduct investigations on death in custody, requiring governments to investigate custodial deaths in order to fulfil the right to a remedy for family members if the death was caused deliberately or by negligence. The investigation sets facts necessary for the prosecution of the complicit officials and to prevent other custodial deaths. A transparent investigation into Trulku Tenzin Deleks case, coupled with the prosecution of the responsible officials, would send a clear message that the PRC is committed to the rule of law and ending human rights violations in Tibet. Such an action would also pave the way for investigations into other deaths in custody."
"Today serves as a poignant reminder for the international community, governments, and civil society organisations to call upon China to end the systemic use of torture. As a party to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Chinese government is obligated to take adequate measures to prevent torture and prosecute torturers," she said.
To honour and remember the victims of torture, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy will highlight 20 cases of custodial deaths of Tibetan political prisoners who suffered inhuman and degrading treatment in detention centres and prisons. These cases will be featured on TCHRD's social media for the next twenty days to draw attention to their plight and demand accountability from the Chinese government.
In a video message Nyima Lhamo, niece of Trulku Tenzin Delek, showed during the event and she urged the international community to uncover the truth, emphasising that Trulku Tenzin Delek's hope will continue to live on among the people and stressed the need to prevent others-whether Tibetan Buddhist leaders, singers, artists, ordinary individuals, teachers, or businessmen-from suffering the same fate in the future.
Sonam Tsering, Secretary General of the Tibetan Youth Congress, moderated the debate with former Tibetan political prisoners, introducing the story of each of them, their imprisonment and the torture they suffered in Chinese prisons.
Geshe Tsering Dorje recounts how he served his root guru, the late Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, how he and Tenzin Delek Rinpoche protected the Tibetan environment, served the people and tried to protect the Tibetan language, how they had numerous disputes with the local Chinese authorities over their teaching of Buddhism to local Tibetans and their activities in areas where they were not allowed to do so, even though these activities were permitted by Chinese law. These activities led to him and his late root guru being unjustly imprisoned in China and to Tenzin Delek Rinpoche's death in prison. He also spoke of the cruelty and torture inflicted by the Chinese authorities during interrogations and in prison.
Then Lobsang Yonten talked about his protest against China during the Tibetan uprising in Lhasa in 1959 and his arrest, how he and all the other Tibetans were beaten, tortured and starved in the Chinese prison, how he saw Tibetans starving and tortured to death in the prison, and so on.
Geshe Ngawang Delek recounted how he was a criminal when he was in his mother's womb because his father and family had protested during the Chinese occupation of Tibet, how he was treated as a criminal child after his birth, then his monastic life in Tibet and how the Chinese authorities treated the monks, how they led to the 1987 protest against the Chinese government, then to imprisonment, and how the Chinese authorities tortured them while they were asking questions and also how they used sound reasoning and tried to brainwash him and other young Tibetans in the Chinese prison.
Gendun Rinchen and Sherab Gyatso also recounted their lives in Tibet and how China has become rich by seizing Tibetan resources and how the Chinese government has tried to eliminate Tibetan identity and the Tibetan language.
