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China locks up Tibetans for sending email

By Nick Farrell | Tech Eye

A Tibetan pilgrim spins his prayer wheel during a religious ritual as he walks around the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region, 24 November 2009. More than 50 Tibetans have been arrested on charges of “separatism” for sending reports, photos or videos on the world wide web.File photo/Reuters/Nir Elias/China

As Google makes headlines for standing up to Chinese censorship, Reporters Without Borders said that more than 50 Tibetans have been arrested for sending reports, photos or videos on the world wide wibble.

The group said a blog known on the web as “Dasher” who received a 10-year prison sentence on charges of “separatism”.

Apparently the sin was that he sent reports and photos of the protests which China denied ever happened.

According to a RSF the repression has never stopped since the March 2008 uprising in the Tibetan regions.

The persecution of Tibetans who take risks to send evidence of the human rights situation abroad is a tragic illustration of the state of exception that reigns in Tibet, the report said.

Tibetan journalists allege that a re-education campaign in the Tibetan county of Sog has resulted in the arrest of several Tibetans who refused to comply with the “Love your religion, love your country” campaign, RSF said.

We thought the Chinese thought that religion was the opium of the people and Tibet would no longer need it once it became the Chinese province that Bejing believes it is.

Copyright © 2010 JAM IT Media Ltd

Published in Tech Eye