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Wife says jailed Tibetan filmmaker may have been tortured

By Lobsang Wangyal | Tibet Sun

Lhamo Tso, wife of Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen (seen in the backdrop), speaks during a campaign for his release in Dharamshala, India, 31 July 2009, as he is due to stand for court trial in the coming days. Wangchen was arrested in March 2008 by Chinese authorities after he filmed a documentary: Leaving Fear Behind, recording Tibetan views about the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Dalai Lama and Chinese policies in Tibet.Tibet Sun/Lobsang Wangyal/India

The wife of the jailed Tibetan filmmaker says that her husband, who is sick with liver problem, may have been tortured while in detention in China.

She made the statement while speaking to nearly two hundred participants of a candle light procession held in Dharamshala to garner support for the release of jailed Dhondup Wangchen.

Wangchen, who has been jailed since March 2008 for secretly making a documentary in Tibet, is currently awaiting trial in China. He has been charged with “inciting separatism” by the Chinese authorities.

He made the documentary film ‘Leaving Fear Behind’ which recorded Tibetan views about the Beijing Olympics, the Dalai Lama, and Chinese government’s policies in Tibet. The film was smuggled out of Tibet just prior to his arrest.

“My husband is not a criminal. He was arrested for making a film,” Lhamo Tso, the filmmaker’s wife told the gathering at the Tsuglakhang temple in an emotional speech.

None of Wangchen’s family members had been able to speak to him since his arrest. She escaped to India from Tibet in 2007 before he was arrested.

“My husband is an innocent man but the Chinese government is trying to silence him for exercising his right to freedom of expression,” she said.

His lawyers are being barred from representing him, casting serious doubts over the fairness of the trial.

Five Tibetan NGOs — Tibetan Youth Congress, Tibetan Women’s Association, GuChuSum Movement of Tibet, National Democratic Party of Tibet and Students for a free Tibet (India) — organised the event.

Signatures were collected to be sent to the Indian prime minister requesting him to pressure China for the release of the filmmaker. Wangchen’s film was screened after the candle light procession.

“We denounce Beijing’s attempt to unfairly persecute Dhondup Wangchen with no independent legal representation of him,” said Tsewang Rigzin, President of Tibetan Youth Congress. “We demand for an immediate and unconditional release of Dhondup Wangchen and all prisoners of conscience in Tibet.”

Exiled Tibetans say that China denies basic rights to Tibetans in Tibet who often receive lengthy prison sentences for merely expressing their views.

Copyright © 2009 Tibet Sun

Published in Tibet Sun