News digest covering a variety of news items on or about Tibet.
Heavy sentences meted out to Drepung monks
 [23 December] Three senior monks from Drepung Monastery in Lhasa have been handed heavy sentences by the Chinese authorities. According to reports compiled by International Campaign for Tibet, all three were detained in April 2008, following a crackdown on Drepung monastery, after many of the monastery's monks participated in the peaceful protests in March 2008. However, none of the three are believed to have personally participated in the protests. Jampel Wangchuk (pictured), 55, the disciplinarian at Drepung’s Loseling college, has been sentenced to life in prison, Konchok Nyima, 43, the scripture teacher at Gomang college has been sentenced to 20 years and Ngawang Choenyi, 38, the scripture teacher at Ngakpa college, is believed to be serving a sentence of 15 years. The exact charges against the three monks are unknown. Their current location is not known and there are serious concerns for their welfare. The whereabouts of two other Drepung monks arrested at the same time, Ngawang Sertho and a cook nicknamed Gyakpa, are also unknown. According to the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, another Drepung monk detained at the same time, Gyalpo, died in prison following torture in August 2009.
Further reading: ICT report I AP (via Phayul)
Crackdown on Tibetan secular society continues
 [19 November] The Chinese government's campaign to repress influential Tibetans in Tibet continues apace. According to the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, businessmen Sonam Bhagdro (pictured right) and Tashi Topgyal have been sentenced to 15 and 5 years imprisonment respectively. The exact date of the trial was not given, but they were arrrested in August 2009 on suspicion of political activity. Sonam was a member of the county's Communist Party and previously been awarded the "Exemplary Citizen of the County".
Further reading: TCHRD
The trial of three young Tibetan writers took place in Ngaba, Sichuan Province on 28 October, but the verdict has not yet been announced, according to Radio Free Asia. Dhonko (pen name: Nyen), Buddha (pen name: Buddha the Destitute) and Kelsang Jinpa (pen name:Garmi) were detained in June and July after writing and publishing essays about the 2008 protests. All three refuted charges of "inciting activities to split the nation" and were denied their choice of legal representation.
Further reading: RFA I ICT
Tibetan refugees imprisoned after deportation from Nepal
[16 August] In June, the Nepalese authorities deported three Tibetans who were caught crossing the Tibet-Nepal border. The three Tibetans were handed over to the Chinese border police and two of them are now serving six month prison terms. This is the first confirmed case of Tibetans being forcibly repatriated since 2003. This refoulement contravenes the “gentleman’s agreement” between Nepal and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, which has been in place since 1989 and provides safe transit for Tibetan refugees through Nepalese territory. The number of Tibetans arriving safely in Nepal has decreased in recent years, in part due to a tightening of security on the Tibet-Nepal border and to the crackdown following the Spring 2008 protests across Tibet.
Further reading: Guardian (13 August) I ICT report (27 July)
China bans evidence obtained by torture
[1 June] In May new regulations were issued by the Chinese government, stating that evidence obtained through torture and intimidation cannot be used in criminal prosecutions. The new set of legal rules were jointly released on 30 May by five Chinese ministries and judiciary organs, including the Supreme People’s Court, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of State Security and the Ministry of Justice. One regulation sets out principles and rules for scrutinising and gauging evidence used in cases involving the death penalty; the other sets out detailed procedures for examining evidence and for excluding evidence obtained in illegal ways including torture. It remains to be seen whether these new rules will affect cases where the primary or sole evidence was obtained through torture, as in the case of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche (see below).
China’s crackdown on Tibetan intellectuals
[30 May] Tibetan writers, artists and educators are facing an increasingly intense and repressive crackdown from the Chinese government. According to a report by International Campaign for Tibet (ICT), this began following the spring protests of 2008 and now over 30 writers, bloggers, musicians, intellectuals and others are under detantion in prison having expressed views, written poetry or prose or simply shared information about China’s policies and their impact in Tibet. The 2008 protests brought about a literary and cultural resurgence in Tibet, which is presenting a more profound challenge to the Chinese authorities than has been seen in recent times. According to ICT, individuals are now being targetted for expressing any view on Tibetan identity that is not validated by the state.
Tibetan sentenced to death for role in 2008 protests
[25 May] On 25 May the Lhasa Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Sonam Tsering to death with a two year reprieve for rioting and inciting others to riot during protests in Lhasa on 14 March 2008. Five other Tibetans - Tashi Choedon, Kelyon, Yeshi Tsomo, Tayang and Tsewang Gyurme - were given prison sentences ranging from three to seven years for hiding Sonam from the security forces after the riots. Sonam, arrested in October 2009, becomes the seventh Tibetan to receive a death sentence following the spring 2008 protests. Two of these, Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak, were summarily executed in October 2009. They had been found guily on charges relating to arson attacks, following trials conducted behind closed doors, with no evidence that due legal process had been followed.
China's Family Planning Minister visits UK
[19 May] Madam Li Bin, China's Minister of National Population and Family Planning Commission visited the UK 17-19 May. A protest took place in London on Wednesday 19 May to highlight the Chinese government's family planning policies, which result in reproductive rights violations. Women in Tibet, East Turkestan and across China are coerced into sterlisations and abortions, to limit the number of children per family, and are often given little, if any, education or freedom of choice relating to birth control methods.
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