Ngawang Sangdrol released on good behaviour parole, as Jiang Zemin prepares to visit George Bush's Texas Ranch

Press Release 17 October 2002

Free Tibet Campaign welcomes the release of Ngawang Sangdrol, the Tibetan nun serving a 21 year sentence for pro-independence activities, from Drapchi Prison as announced today by the Dui Hua Foundation. Ngawang's release, nine years before the completion of her sentence, is clearly designed to smooth the path for Chinese President Jiang Zemin's visit to George Bush's Texas ranch next week, probably his last US visit as President of China.

"The release of Ngawang Sangdrol is of enormous consequence to campaigners all around the world, and a just reward for our efforts, fighting the injustice of her imprisonment for merely expressing her opinions," said Alison Reynolds, Director of Free Tibet Campaign. "However, Tibet remains under occupation and the real test, of whether Ngawang's release and the opening of communication with the Tibetan government represents a genuine sea-change, will come when this US visit and the political manoeuvrings in Beijing are out of the way. The onus is on China to prove its sincerity and keep this momentum going well beyond the forthcoming Party Congress."

The 16th Party Congress opens in Beijing on 8 November, where Jiang is expected to relinquish the position of Communist Party Secretary in favour of President-elect Hu Jintao. Over the summer, Jiang Zemin has been consolidating his long-term position in the Communist Party, and may retain Chairmanship of the Central Military Commission. Jiang's future influence seems largely based on his experience and ability in handling Sino-US relations. The Dui Hua Foundation specifically acknowledged the efforts of the US Administration on behalf of Ngawang Sangdrol.

Taken with the recent talks with envoys from the exiled Tibetan government, Free Tibet Campaign would like to take this as an indication of China's sincerity in changing its policy on Tibet, but a more cynical interpretation is that these developments represent Jiang's tick-box foreign policy: he can go to Texas claiming to have taken action on a number of issues that were raised during his last meeting with President Bush, but without any serious intention of resolving the half century occupation of Tibet.

According to the Dui Hua Foundation, Ngawang Sangdrol was re-united with her family after being read a court decision granting her parole. She had not been due for release until 3 November 2011. As with Takna Jigme Sangpo, who was released earlier this year, there are serious concerns about Ngawang Sangdrol's health, and no guarantees that she will be able to access appropriate medical treatment in Lhasa. Free Tibet Campaign calls on the Chinese government to issue an undertaking that she, with members of her family, may leave Tibet if she wishes to seek medical treatment abroad.

Notes:

Free Tibet Campaign has detailed testimonies of life as a political prisoner in Drapchi, as told by Tibetan nuns Chuye Kunsang and Passang Lhamo, who visited the UK earlier this year. Contact us for more information.

Ngawang Sangdrol, a nun at the Garu Nunnery north of Lhasa, was born in 1977. She was first arrested in 1990 for protesting with other nuns at the Norbulingka, or Summer Palace, but considered too young to be prosecuted. She was arrested again in 1992 after protesting in the Barkhor area of Lhasa, and sentenced in November to three years in prison, for "counter-revolutionary propaganda and incitement".

On 22 September 1993, her sentence was extended by six years for singing Tibetan nationalist songs in prison with a group of other nuns. On 21 June 1996, it was extended for a further eight years during a Patriotic Re-education programme in the prison. Ngawang had refused to stand up when an official entered the room and to tidy her bedding, and was made to stand outside in the rain as punishment where she shouted "Free Tibet!"

On 4 May 1998, Ngawang Sangdrol's sentence was extended once more, for a further six years, in the aftermath of the uprisings in Drapchi Prison. The governor of Drapchi Prison last month told foreign journalists that criminal prisoners had started the protest. Ngawang was beaten severely and kept in solitary confinement. Ex-prisoner Norzin Wangmo described what happened: "Ani [Nun] Sangdrol was in the worst condition. It was like she was dead, she had lost consciousness. They didn't have any proof against Ani la, they beat her out of grudge. We thought she was dead. ...We had to wait a long time for her to stand up. When she did she was bleeding heavily, blood was streaming from her like water. There were three or four wounds on her head. She walked with a limp. They had trampled upon her body. There were so many people beating her that we couldn't see her when she had fallen down. She wasn't even able to lift up her head afterwards." (source, Tibet Information Network, Rukhag 3)

At the last extension, the Lhasa Intermediate People's Court, combining the new sentence with the sentence Ngawang Sangdrol was already serving, set a release date of May 3, 2013. On October 12, 2001, the Lhasa Intermediate People's Court ordered an 18-month reduction in sentence for Ngawang Sangdrol, on account of her "showing genuine repentance and willingness to reform." Her new release date was set at November 3, 2011. Dui Hua Foundation reported that Ngawang Sangdrol had been exempted from hard labour, and been put to work doing "light work suitable for female inmates, e.g. knitting and weaving."

Dui Hua Foundation's statement further reads, "Under China's regulations governing parole, sentence reductions for good behavior should take place no more than once every two years, and prisoners become eligible for parole only after serving one-half of their sentences. However, in light of Ngawang Sangdrol's good behavior and recognizing that she entered prison before the age of 18, the Lhasa Intermediate People's Court decided, in accordance with the principle of light or reduced sentences for individuals who enter prison as juveniles, to approve Ngawang Sangdrol's immediate release from prison on parole. Because of the special circumstances surrounding this parole, the Lhasa Intermediate People's Court sought and received ratification for its decision from the Tibet Autonomous Region Higher People's Court and the Supreme People's Court of the People's Republic of China."