Free Tibet activists launch new campaign for religious leader under sentence of death

LONDON - TUESDAY 2 DECEMBER FROM 10.30am

Free Tibet Campaign is holding a series of activities to mark the anniversary of a death sentence passed on prominent Tibetan religious leader Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche from Kham (Sichuan Province, People's Republic of China). The victim of an unfair trial, Tenzin Deleg could face execution as soon as April 2004. See below for more details on his case.

10.30am Striking visual protest at Chinese Embassy, with activists wearing face masks of Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche and dressed in Chinese Army uniforms. 49 - 51 Portland Place, London W1.
 

4.15 to 5pm Parliamentary Lobby at Portcullis House, Westminster, SW1. Members of the House of Commons and House of Lords will meet constituency members. Meeting to be chaired by Lord Avebury and addressed by Tibetan ex political prisoner Ganden Tashi. To date 72 MPs have signed an Early Day Motion in support of Tenzin Deleg.

6pm to 8pm Candlelit Vigil at Chinese Embassy, 49-51 Portland Place W1.

 

Background to Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche's case

A respected Buddhist leader in the Tibetan region of Kham (Sichuan Province), Tenzin Deleg has been targeted by the Chinese authorities because of his support for the Dalai Lama and prominent standing in the community. He was arrested in April 2002 and sentenced to death, with a two-year suspension, on 2 December 2002 after an unfair judicial process. He had been charged, with Lobsang Dhondup, of "splittist activities" and having an involvement in "causing explosions." Lobsang Dhondup was executed immediately after a failed 'appeal' on 26 January 2003. Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche has not been seen since this date.

China has produced no evidence to support the accusations against Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche. So far, international pressure has prompted the early release of five Tibetans arrested in connection with this case. In March, a Chinese official told an EU human rights delegation that the EU "paid more attention to the ethnicity of the criminals than to the crime committed." A recent delegation from the UK raised Tenzin Deleg's case but China gave no new information about his case.