Current prisoners |
The Gyanbe monks
Eight Tibetan Monks (Gyurmey Dhondup, Kalsang Tsering, Dorjee Wangyal, Rinchen Gyaltsan, Tsewang Yeshi, Kunga Phuntsok, Tsering Nyima, Trinley Wangyal) were arrested in April 2008 after allegedly staging a bomb attack on a government building in the Tibetan township of Gyanbe on March 23.
They have all been given lengthy prison sentences, ranging from 9 years to life imprisonment. In violation of Chinese legal procedures, the monks were denied access to both family members and legal council, and both the charges and sentences were kept secret, even from their families. They were convicted despite the evidence seeming to rest only on confessions made during detention. Free Tibet is concerned that given the practice of beatings used during detention to exact confessions, that these convictions are therefore unsafe.
Gyurmey Dhondup (Ch: Jinmei Dunzhu), 28: life imprisonment
Kalsang Tsering, 20: life imprisonment
Dorjee Wangyal (Ch: Duoji Wangjie), 31: 15 years imprisonment
Rinchen Gyaltsan (Ch: Renqing Jiangcun), 27: 10 years imprisonment
Tsewang Yeshi (Ch: Ciwang Yixi): 9 years imprisonment
Kunga Phuntsok (Ch: Genga Pingcuo),19: 10 years imprisonment
Tsering Nyima, 21: 10 years imprisonment
Trinley Wanggyal, 21: 5 years imprisonment
The 8 Monks are from Thangkay Monastery in Gyanbe, Gonjo County (Chamdo Prefecture), it is about 855 miles east of Lhasa, Tibet's capital, where peaceful protests against Chinese rule erupted into violence in March
The legal proceedings against the monks have been shrouded in complete secrecy, according to Free Tibet's source. Normally relatives of the accused would be informed of the nature of the alleged charges, and also of the sentencing. It is also unusual that, in a case concerning an alleged bombing, the sentencing of the convicted is not carried out in a public court.
According to the source, the case against the monks has been mounted in the absence of even the most basic level of legal oversight and due process: from the time of arrest to sentencing the monks were denied all access to family and legal counsel; the nature of the charges and the eventual sentencing has not been made public by the court. Relatives of the monks had expected them to be released after the Olympics. Instead the monks were sentenced following the Games, although family relatives were not informed of the sentences. Details of the sentencing had come from an undisclosed contact of the source.
A report in the official People’s Daily on 14 April stated that the Tibetans, who were arrested on suspicion of causing the blast, had all confessed to the alleged crime. But the source from the region contests this, arguing that the official Chinese version of events is not credible.
The legal proceedings against the monks have been shrouded in complete secrecy, according to the source. Normally relatives of the accused would be informed of the nature of the alleged charges, and also of the sentencing. It is also unusual that, in a case concerning an alleged bombing, the sentencing of the convicted is not carried out in a public court.
The monks are;
Gyurmey Dhondup (Ch: Jinmei Dunzhu),
A 28 year old monk from the Thangkya monastery, was arrested in April 2008 after allegedly staging a bomb attack on a government building in the Tibetan township of Gyanbe. He was sentenced on 23 September by the Chamdo Prefecture People’s Court and given life imprisonment
Kalsang Tsering,
A 20 year old monk from the Thangkya monastery, was arrested in April 2008 after allegedly staging a bomb attack on a government building in the Tibetan township of Gyanbe. He was sentenced on 23 September by the Chamdo Prefecture People’s Court and given life imprisonment
Dorjee Wangyal (Ch: Duoji Wangjie
A 31 year old monk from the Thangkya monastery, was arrested in April 2008 after allegedly staging a bomb attack on a government building in the Tibetan township of Gyanbe. He was sentenced on 23 September by the Chamdo Prefecture People’s Court given 15 years imprisonment.
Rinchen Gyaltsan (Ch: Renqing Jiangcun)
A 27 year old monk from the Thangkya monastery, was arrested in April 2008 after allegedly staging a bomb attack on a government building in the Tibetan township of Gyanbe. He was sentenced on 23 September by the Chamdo Prefecture People’s Court and given 10 years imprisonment.
Tsewang Yeshi (Ch: Ciwang Yixi): 9 years imprisonment
A monk from the Thangkya monastery, was arrested in April 2008 after allegedly staging a bomb attack on a government building in the Tibetan township of Gyanbe. He was sentenced on 23 September by the Chamdo Prefecture People’s Court and given 9 years imprisonment.
Kunga Phuntsok (Ch: Genga Pingcuo),
A 19 year old monk from the Thangkya monastery, was arrested in April 2008 after allegedly staging a bomb attack on a government building in the Tibetan township of Gyanbe. He was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment on 23 September by the Chamdo Prefecture People’s Court.
Tsering Nyima,
A 21 year old monk from the Thangkya monastery, was arrested in April 2008 after allegedly staging a bomb attack on a government building in the Tibetan township of Gyanbe. He was sentenced on 23 September to 10 years imprisonment by the Chamdo Prefecture People’s Court.
Trinley Wanggyal
A 31 year old monk from the Thangkya monastery, was arrested in April 2008 after allegedly staging a bomb attack on a government building in the Tibetan township of Gyanbe. He was sentenced on 23 September to 15 years imprisonment by the Chamdo Prefecture People’s Court.
