25/06/10: Torture law flouted by China |
China flouts law on torture less than a month after law passed
New evidence of Chinese authorities using torture in detention has been exposed less than one month after it was banned on 31 May and a few days before the International Day in Support of the Victims of Torture on 26 June.
Karma Samdrup, a prominent Tibetan environmentalist and philanthropist, appeared in court in Xinjiang this week, looking frail and gaunt, stating that he had been beaten, drugged and deprived of sleep for days during his interrogation.
He was sentenced to 15 years in prison on trumped-up charges of robbing ancient tombs on Thursday. Charges initially brought and dropped in 1998. It is widely understood that his “real crime” was to protest about the imprisonment of his two brothers who had exposed local government officials for poaching endangered species.
The torture of Karma Samdrup challenges any hope that the new regulations announced on 31 May banning evidence obtained by torture would be respected.
Stephanie Brigden, Director of Free Tibet says: “The changes in law are little more than window dressing. Given China’s appalling human rights record in Tibet, we are not very surprised.”
After the court hearing this week, Dolkar Tso, Karma Samdrup’s wife, wrote the following in a blog post: “The account we heard afterwards exceeded our worst imaginations, we heard about hundreds of different cruel torture methods, maltreatment around the clock, hitherto unheard of torture instruments and drugs, hard and soft tactics, and even of fellow prisoners being grouped together to extract a confession. If he did not reveal certain details he would be mentally tormented. If he wanted to eat or go to the toilet he had to write an "IOU", an "IOU" which has already amounted to 660,000 RMB [£64,790]. The “purchased” food would first be crushed by people using their feet, there would be beatings for no reason, this was common and occurred too many times to count.”
Free Tibet is campaigning to stop torture in Tibet and was at first encouraged by the news of the change in law. Juliet Stevenson, actress, and Free Tibet supporter says:
“Torture is routine in Tibet. As we have seen in Karma’s case, it is used to punish, humiliate and to secure evidence. When we heard China’s decision to ban the use of confessions secured through torture, we felt this could be a real victory for Free Tibet’s Stop Torture Campaign. If China wants to be a respected partner on the international stage, meeting international human rights norms has to be the first step.”
Stephanie Brigden adds: “The British Coalition Government has published in its manifesto that it will ‘seek closer engagement with China, while standing firm on human rights’. Addressing the widespread and routine use of torture in Tibet and China must be at the top of their agenda. Calling for a thorough investigation into the allegations of Karma Samdrup’s torture would be an important first demand.”
ENDS
Notes to Editor
• For further information, interviews with Stephanie Brigden and photos and case studies of survivors of torture, please call Louise Orton on +44 (0)7939 141 764 or email louiseorton2010@gmail.com
• For further information on Karma Sandrup’s case, click here
http://www.freetibet.org/campaigns/political-prisoners-0
• Video and audio recordings of testimonies of survivors of torture in Tibet by Juliet Stevenson, Dominic West, David Threlfall, and Alan Rickman can be viewed at: http://www.freetibet.org/pages/torture.html. If you would like to publish any of the recordings on your website, video-files and audio-files are available on request. Please email: louiseorton2010@gmail.com
• For more information about Free Tibet’s Stop Torture Campaign, click here:
http://www.freetibet.org/pages/torture.html
• Free Tibet is an international campaigning organisation that stands for the right of Tibetans to determine their own future. We campaign for an end to the Chinese occupation of Tibet and for the fundamental human rights of Tibetans to be respected. Founded in 1987, Free Tibet generates active support through public education about the situation in Tibet. We are independent of all governments and are funded by our members and supporters.