(Please contact Free Tibet Campaign if acting after 25 April 2004)

Yeshe Gyatso (70), Tenzin Phuntsog (64) and Nyima Dragpa(29) are three of the most recent Tibetans to have died following imprisonment, possibly as a result of torture and maltreatment in Tibetan prisons. These latest deaths raise questions about China's commitments to international human rights standards as set out in the UN Convention Against Torture. To date, at least 44 Tibetan political prisoners have died in prison or soon after their release since 1987 according to Tibet Information Network records.

Yeshe Gyatso died on 15 January 2004 after he had been released on medical parole following international pressure in November 2003. Yeshe was a senior Lhasa official who was given a six year sentence for "separatist activities" after he was arrested during the crackdown in the run-up to the Dalai Lama's birthday in July 2003. Yeshe had been appointed to the Lhasa Municipality People's Consultative Conference in the 1980s. He was held without access to friends or family for at least two months. According to informed sources he was not physically abused but his mental condition, which was good prior to his arrest, had deteriorated markedly during his detention. The exact cause of death is unclear. Whilst on medical parole, his home and visitors were monitored by the authorities (Note: this information on his release on medical parole and subsequent death arrived after the Update had gone to print).

Tenzin Phuntsog died in hospital in Shigatse on 8 September 2003. He had been arrested on 21 February 2003 over suspected political activities. Prior to his arrest he was a healthy man who had visited India for family visits and had undertaken Buddhist pilgrimages. Tenzin, a member of the Khangmar People's Consultative Conference, had previously been held once before in 1959 for five years along with his father. According to TibetNet (an internet-based news service of the Central Tibetan Administration in Dharamsala), Tenzin's death was due to subjection to torture during intensive periods of interrogation at Nyari Prison in Shigatse.

According to Radio Free Asia (RFA), Nyima Dragpa, a monk from Nyatso Monastery in Dawu County, Kham (Ch: Sichuan Province) died on 2 October 2003. This was just ten days after he was hospitalised from Dawu Prison. He had been sentenced on 5 October 2000 to nine years imprisonment for "endangering state security". Nyima had returned to Tibet in 1994 after he had escaped to India where he lived for three years. He apparently admitted to pasting pro-independence posters on the walls of Dawu County Government buildings. A source told RFA that on entering hospital Nyima had been unable to speak and that "his legs were thin and lifeless".

In a letter obtained by RFA dated 1 April 2001, Nyima recounted his experiences at the hands of the Chinese authorities, "Right from the start they started beating me, rendering me incapable of uttering even a word. I sensed that the whole of my body hurt and it was impossible to move properly." Despite continued periods of interrogation, "I managed to tell them exactly everything that I deeply believe and feel in my heart, and acknowledged that I had indeed written all those posters.... I appeal to my fellow Tibetans, you must know and understand the truth about how China mistreats us through unreserved bullying, illegal and immoral actions."

China continues to torture Tibetan political prisoners with impunity despite its commitments to the UN Convention Against Torture. Please take the following actions to ensure that China is held accountable for its actions and to help stop instances of death such as those described above.
 

Please write to those listed below with the following demands: