Dominic West, Juliet Stevenson, David Threlfall and Alan Rickman back Free Tibet's 'Stop Torture in Tibet' campaign
 

Free Tibet launches today its "Stop Torture in Tibet" campaign. The
launch comes just days after China suddenly cancelled the UK-China Human
Rights Dialogue which was scheduled to take place from today in Beijing.
China cancelled the Dialogue as a slap on the wrist for the British
government which had earlier issued a strong public condemnation of
China's human rights record after China executed a British citizen in
China on December 29.

A host of British stars have already backed the campaign by agreeing to
be recorded reading from the harrowing testimonies(1) of Tibetan torture
victims (2). (Press should see note 2 below for details of how to access and publish
the video recordings).

In one of the video-recordings Dominic West (who plays Jimmy McNulty in
the TV series "The Wire") reads the testimony of Lhamo Kyab, a Tibetan
torture victim arrested for attempting to fly the banned Tibetan
national flag (3).

David Threlfall reads out the testimony of Pema (4), a Tibetan who was
arrested and tortured after taking part in a protest against Chinese
rule in March 2008. The testimony describes how Pema was beaten until he
lost consciousness, before being transferred to a cramped storage hall
where more than 100 other Tibetans were being held in appalling
conditions, with no running water or toilets.

After recording Pema's testimony, David Threlfall said:

"Many of us, myself included, remember all too well the pain of being
bullied at school. For Tibetans, the bullying never stops. The Chinese
authorities use torture and bullying as a weapon of the state, designed
to instil a climate of deep fear and to deter Tibetans from speaking out
against China's human rights abuses. Please speak out and help give
Tibetans their voice back by supporting Free Tibet's campaign to stop
torture in Tibet."

Dominic West said:

"For too long the Chinese authorities have sought to torture Tibetans
into silence. Those of us who can, must speak out and demand a stop to
torture in Tibet. That is why I am supporting Free Tibet. I urge people
of conscience everywhere to back this campaign to stop torture in
Tibet."

The launch of the campaign comes at a time when China's dire human
rights record has come under intense scrutiny following the execution of
British national, Akmal Shaikh, last month (5). The British government's
strong public condemnation of the execution of the Briton resulted in
the Chinese government retaliating by cancelling a UK-China bilateral
human rights dialogue, scheduled to have been staged in Beijing from
today. The execution of Akmal Shaikh; the executions of two Tibetans
last year despite serious concerns that the evidence presented against
them was unsafe (6); and the sudden cancellation of a human rights
dialogue all combine to challenge directly the effectiveness of the
British government's policy of "constructive engagement" with China.
Reducing the number of executions is a stated objective of Britain's
engagement with China on human rights. But the execution of a British
citizen in China, together with the executions of Tibetans last October
just weeks after a British minister visited Tibet, demonstrates the
urgent need for a radical re-think of Britain's strategy for how it
engages with China on human rights.

For further information and to arrange interviews with David Threlfall
and Juliet Stevenson:

Matt Whitticase, External Communications: t +44 (0)20 7324 4605 / +44 (0)7515 788456 or email: matt@freetibet.org