28 June 2010

On 31 May the Chinese administration announced new regulations that make it clear that courts may not use;

                -confessions extracted under torture,

                -testimonies extracted using violence or threats,

                -or evidence whose origins are unclear.

Free Tibet is encouraged China has conformed to international norms and has banned evidence obtained by torture in Tibet and China – a victory for Free Tibet’s campaign. But this change in law needs to be more than window-dressing.

Less than one month after the Chinese administration announced its new policies, the case of environmentalist Karma Samdrup  illustrates that torture by Chinese authorities is still widespread and routine. Securing reform will clearly take more than relying on empty words from Beijing.

Take action­­ – ask the new Foreign Secretary William Hague what steps the Coalition Government is taking to ensure China keeps its promises. Please copy and paste the following text into an email and send it to through this Foreign and Commonwealth Office link  to Foreign Secretary William Hague.


Please copy and paste the letter below to the Foreign Office

As a supporter of Free Tibet’s Stop Torture in Tibet campaign, I was encouraged to hear that China has conformed to international norms and has banned evidence obtained by torture from courts in Tibet and China– a victory for Free Tibet’s campaign. But less than a month since the announcement, environmentalist Karma Samdrup’s recent trial exposed the details of the ill –treatment and torture he has suffered in detention exposing China’s reform as little more than window dressing.

The British Coalition Government has published in its manifesto that it will ‘seek closer engagement with China, while standing firm on human rights’. As a supporter of Free Tibet’s Stop Torture in Tibet campaign, I would like to know how the Coalition Government will be holding China to account on human rights and ensuring  this recent reform is more than empty words from Beijing.  Addressing the widespread and routine use of torture in Tibet and China must be at the top of your agenda with China.  Calling for a thorough investigation into the allegations of Karma Samdrup’s torture would be an important first demand.

(Your name)