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Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis condemns the executions in Lhasa |
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[23 Oct 2009] Foreign Office Minister Ivan Lewis condemned the recent executions in Lhasa of two Tibetans, Mr Lobsang Gyaltsen and Mr Loyak, on Friday 23 October. Ivan Lewis also called on China to urgently review the cases of those who remain under sentence of death.
He said: "I condemn the recent executions in Lhasa of two Tibetans, Mr Lobsang Gyaltsen and Mr Loyak. We respect China's right to bring those responsible for the violence in Tibet last year to justice. But the UK opposes the death penalty in all circumstances, and we have consistently raised our concerns about lack of due process in these cases in particular.
I expressed my deep concern about these cases during my visit to Tibet in September and urged the authorities not to carry out the death sentence. We have also raised these concerns through the European Union.
I call on China to review urgently the cases of those who remain under sentence of death for their alleged involvement in last year’s unrest."
Read Ivan Lewis's statement on the Foreign Office site [here]
Crown copyright
Please write to your MP and the Foreign Secretary to urge they follow up on their "concerns about lack of due process in these cases" and ask what the government is doing in practical terms to ensure China really does "review urgently the cases of those who remain under sentence of death for their alleged involvement in last year’s unrest."
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