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Exile Tibetans condemn death sentences of dissidents

By Lobsang Wangyal | Tibet Sun

A Tibetan woman during a candle light vigil in Dharamshala, India, on 9 April 2009, denouncing the death sentences handed down to two Tibetans for their involvement in last year’s riot in Lhasa. Two other Tibetans have been given suspended death sentences with two year reprieve while another has been sentenced to life imprisonment.Tibet Sun/Lobsang Wangyal/India

Tibetans in exile condemned China for the death sentences given to two Tibetans for their involvement in last year’s riots in Lhasa.

The Tibetan government-in-exile said that it is “deeply concerned” for the harsh sentences.

“This kind of arbitrary sentences meted out to Tibetans is exacerbated by the fact that there is no due process of law and the courts in the People’s Republic of China are political instruments of the authorities,” said the statement released by the exile government.

The death sentences by the Lhasa Intermediate People’s Court in the Tibet Autonomous Region are the first such verdicts since the March 2008 unrest in Tibet.

The court accused Lobsang Gyaltsen for setting fire to two garment shops, killing a shop owner. He was then given the death sentence. Loyak received the death penalty for his role in the burning of a motorcycle shop that killed three people and two employees. Two other Tibetans, Tenzin Phuntsok and Kangtsuk, have been given suspended death sentences with two year reprieve. Another Tibetan named Dawa Sangpo has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Xinhua, China’s state news agency, reported citing a spokesman of the court that the accused had been given open trials, strictly abiding by the Criminal Procedure Law of the People’s Republic of China. The agency also reported that the court also provided Tibetan interpreters for the defendants, and their lawyers fully voiced their defences.

The Tibetan Youth Congress (TYC) condemned the “foul verdict” of the court saying China abuses the judiciary system, and wrongly accusing and convicting innocent Tibetan freedom fighters.

TYC says that the trial wasn’t conducted in accordance with international law. Lacking the standards which fundamentally gives the defendant the right to a fair trial and the right to chose an attorney.

The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), an organisation monitoring human rights situation in Tibet, while condemning the death sentences says the verdict clearly highlights the current level of repression in Tibet, where state agencies freely abuse the human rights of the Tibetan people.

“In this latest sentencing by the Lhasa court, the TCHRD sees a shivering message of intimidation being passed to the Tibetans who dare to show their dissent with the state,” a press statement released by the group said.

“The verdicts are highly arbitrary in nature which does not meet the international judicial standards.”

Around 230 Tibetans had so far received varying prison terms between six months to life for their participation in the spring protest last year. The latest verdicts are the harshest till date.

Last year’s riots broke out after several days of peaceful anti-government protests by Tibetan monks on 10 March, to commemorate the 49th failed uprising against the Chinese rule in Tibet. The protests turned deadly on 14 March, being cracked down with severe military action. Exile Tibetans say over 200 Tibetans have been killed in the crackdown. However, China says the rioters killed around 20 civilians.

Tibetans now fear for the fate of two young women who have been charged with setting fire to a shop that charred five Han Chinese during the riots.

The verdicts of Penkyid, 23, and Chime Lhazom, 20, are awaited. According to a spokesman of the TCHRD, Tenzin Norgay, the two women would receive similar judgment as Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak.

The Tibetan government-in-exile believe that the China’s massive and continued repression of Tibetans is fueling even deeper resentment.

“The best way to resolve the issue of Tibet is to address the just concerns of the Tibetan people based on honesty and sincerity,” the statement by the exiled government said.

Copyright © 2009 Tibet Sun

Published in Tibet Sun