Background:
The cases of the executed Tibetans and Chime Lhamo and Penkyi from Nyemo

On 21 April 2009, news emerged that Penkyi, of Sakya county, received a suspended death sentence for allegedly starting fires that resulted in a fatality in Lhasa in 2008. Another Tibetan woman, also named Penkyi, was sentenced to life imprisonment while Chime Lhamo, a 22-year-old woman, was sentenced to ten years. It is unknown when these sentences were delivered and no other details were given. Under Chinese law, given that her original sentence was suspended, Penkyi's death sentence was commuted to life.

Lobsang Gyaltsen and Loyak, the two men who had received death sentences without reprieve, had ten days from sentencing in April to appeal. However, it is unclear if they have been advised of their rights or have access to legal representation. After ten days the Lhasa Court would decide whether to uphold the sentences or not. If upheld, the sentences will be referred to the Supreme People’s Court in Beijing which will make a final ruling within five to seven weeks. If the Supreme Court also upholds the sentences then the executions may take place at any time.

Loyak, one of those sentenced to death, escorted by police

Courts in China are highly politicised. For example, the Supreme People’s Court in Beijing is guided by the Political-Legal Committee of the Communist Party of China, which includes the heads of various security organs, including Public Security.

In addition any appeal should, according to Chinese law, take place in an open court. However, foreign journalists are routinely refused access to Tibet, there have been no independent media reports of these trials, and there is a continued delay in China approving visits to Tibet by government delegations.

The lack of an independent judiciary in China means it is unlikely those convicted and facing the death penalty will receive a fair review of their cases.

Further trials relating to the protests of March 2008 are likely to follow behind closed doors. The rush of death sentences recently announced could become an avalanche unless international leaders and governments urgently condemn the use of death sentences and express their grave concerns that international judicial standards have not been met in these cases.

  
(Left to right) Chime Lhamo, Penkyi of Nyemo and Penkyi of Sakya, who was sentenced to death.
Photos from Central Tibetan Administration 

The reports cited were taken from the Central Tibetan Administration website, which can be found here.

Unfair trials

Evidence collected by Free Tibet and other human rights groups points to the routine absence of legal due process in cases regarding Tibetan detainees since March last year. Those detained are routinely held at undisclosed locations and denied access to legal representation. Free Tibet is also extremely concerned regarding the evidence used against the individuals. At least one individual reportedly confessed his own guilt while in detention. In November 2008, the UN Committee against Torture, stated its deep concern “…of routine and widespread use of torture… especially to extract confessions or information to be used in criminal proceedings” and “Continued reliance on confessions as a common form of evidence for prosecution…” 
(Paragraph 11. CAT/C/CHN/CO/4 21 November 2008)

Kungtsuk (left) was given a death sentence, commuted to life and Dawa Sangpo (right) received a life sentence.

The Dalai Lama comments on the sentences

When asked about the death sentences, the Dalai Lama expressed distrust in the Chinese courts, saying that though criminals should be punished, "all these sentences are politically motivated, so we have great reservations. The PRC as a whole is without rule of law, no independent judiciary. Everything is controlled by the party."

Bill Rammell's (Minister of State) written answer on the death sentences to Harry Cohen MP on 18 May 2009

We have received a number of reports from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) stating that the trials of those connected with the disturbances in Tibet in March 2008 were not compliant with international standards, and that the evidence against the individuals concerned was unsound and the convictions therefore unsafe. We have consistently expressed our concern at the need for proper due process for all those detained, and our belief that any trials should be conducted justly, fairly and transparently. The fact that independent observers were not allowed at these trials means that we have been unable to verify that the human rights of the defendants were respected, and that the trials were free from political interference. This, together with the reports from NGOs, does give us real cause for concern, as does the verdict of the death penalty, to which the UK is opposed in principle. As a consequence, and working closely with our EU counterparts, we are urging the Chinese authorities not to carry out the sentences imposed on those convicted. I made these points in similar terms in my written response to Free Tibet and the Tibet Society at the beginning of May.