Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche, one of the most important religious leaders in Tibet, has been sentenced to death (suspended for 2 years) by China for a crime he did not commit and could be executed in January 2005.

Arrested in April 2002 for alleged involvement in a bomb explosion, he and a colleague, Lobsang Dhondup, were sentenced in December 2002.

Lobsang Dhondup was executed on 26 January 2003 after the sentences were upheld following an appeal.

Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche maintains his innocence and China have failed to produce any evidence showing his involvement.

To date 16 Tibetans have been detained, arrested or disappeared in relation to this case, some for simply trying to pass information on the case to the outside world.

Following international pressure five Tibetans connected with the case were released.

 

Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche's suspended death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment in January 2005.
Below is a summery of events up until January 2005.

 

4 January 2005

Xinhua, the news agency of the Chinese Government, reported on 30 December that Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche has "abided by the rules in jail and committed no further crimes" indicating that his suspended death sentence may be commuted to a life sentence. This information was said to come from the prison's chief warden. The report also said that the suspension was due to end on 26 January, contradicting earlier reports which said it would end on 23 January. Click here to read the full Xinhua report.

Until an official announcement is made on the fate of Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche, Free Tibet Campaign urges its supporters to continue pressing the authorities to commute the death sentence and to give Rinpoche a fair trial. Click here for details on action to take.

13 December 2004

A report from AFP (Agence France Presse) has indicated that Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche is alive and may have his death sentence commuted. Note: this information comes from only one source and has not been confirmed. Until an official public announcement is made Free Tibet Campaign urges all supporters to continue to call for Rinpoche not to be executed and that he is given a fair and transparent trial. Click here for details on action to take.

In AFP's report an official from Sichuan's prison administrative bureau was quoted as saying, "This monk has not been executed. I heard they're considering changing his penalty to life imprisonment or a fixed-term penalty. It's because he behaved himself well in prison." Click here to read the full AFP report.

?9 December 2004

The UK Government and Dutch Presidency, in their respective human rights dialogues with the Chinese Government in November 2004, have been informed that 23 January 2005 would be the expiry date of Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche's suspended death sentence. Tenzin Deleg will then either face execution or a lifetime in prison for a crime he did not commit. Moreover, a life sentence in Tibet's prisons are tantamount to a death sentence as a result of the prevalence of torture and terrible prison conditions.

An Early Day Motion (EDM) in support of Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche has been tabled at the House of Commons (UK). Click here for further details and how you can encourage your MP to sign the EDM.

?7 December 2004

To date there has no been news on the fate of Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche.

The anniversary of the original trial, 2 December, was believed to be a possible date that China would execute Rinpoche or commute his two-year suspended death sentence to life imprisonment. However, it is also plausible that the Chinese authorities are using the date of the appeal to calculate the two-year suspension, which means an announcement could be made on 26 January 2005. Free Tibet Campaign will continue to monitor the situation as an announcement could be made before then. Any developments will be posted on this page.

The only recent statement made by the Chinese Government was one re-affirming their treatment of Rinpoche as a terrorist. On 2 December, AFP quoted Zhang Qiyue, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson as saying, "As far as I know, relevant departments of justice have reviewed the case of Tenzin Deleg and I think in any country for these criminals that jeopardise national security and engage in terrorist bombings, they will meet punishment according to law."

Please continue to write to the Chinese authorities demanding that Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche not be executed and that he is a given a fair and transparent re-trial. Click here for addresses. Action postcards are also available from Free Tibet Campaign to send to the Chinese Minister of Justice.

Click here for details and pictures of the actions at the Chinese Embassy on 2 December.

Note: The two climbers arrested on 2 December after climbing onto the roof of the Chinese Embassy in London and displaying a banner in support of Rinpoche (see link) have been charged and released on bail. They are due to appear in court at the end of January to face charges of diplomatic trespass and causing a public nuisance.
 

Report from July 2010, taken from The Tibet Post

Dharamshala: Two sisters of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, along with five other women, have returned from Chengdu city, the so called Sichuan region of China, where they staged the 12th appeal for his case to be reopened. They have arrived back in Lithang county, eastern Tibet, after demanding a series of requests from the Chinese government concerning their brother's future.

The revered religious leader was accused of involvement in a series bomb attacks in the Eastern province of Tibet in December 2002. There has been no credible evidence to link him to this crime and he has continuously denied any involvement in the incident, however he was sentenced to life imprisonment on 26th January 2005, narrowly escaping the death sentence when overseas human rights organizations and the United Nations intervened in the case.

Tenzin Delek's eldest sister Sonam Dekyi, aged 57, along with the youngest Dolkar, 47, and five other women, Aba Bumo, 63 from Othok, Sobo, 37, Sochoe, 47 Gyalpo, 35, and Debo, 40, made three demands on their visit.

Firstly, they pleaded that a fair retrial will take place as soon as possible, a demand that was met coldly by Chinese officials who state they will not reassess the case and that an appropriate sentence has already been decided.

Their second appeal concerned a document that Tenzin Delek intended to send to 26 Chinese governmental departments explaining his innocence. He told his sisters about this during a meeting they had in April, explaining that he would ensure it was sent in May. However, the sisters have received no information about this document and have demanded that they be told of its whereabouts and the governmental response. Chinese officials stubbornly deny the existence of this article, despite the insistence of the women that it was distributed, and have assured the women that a search was carried out but to no avail.

Finally, on their last visit to Chengdu they were informed that their brother was seriously ill by his supposed personal doctor, to which they demand he be released for treatment in keeping with the law regarding prisoners. In response they have been told that checks will be made within the next two months to decide whether treatment is necessary and if so someone will have to return in order to assist with this. The sisters have agreed on fulfilling this role when the time comes.

The women have been given the contact details of relevant governmental departments in order to pursue their queries further.