A new Human Rights Watch news release charges the Chinese Communist authorities with conducting a prompt and fair investigation into the death of a Tibetan monk who was abused while in custody. (Screenshot from Human Rights Watch website)
Human Rights Watch says Chinese authorities should be held accountable for the death of a 19-year-old Tibetan monk who was recently taken into police custody. The human rights group also urged China to release six young Tibetans who were sentenced to prison for participating in peaceful protests.
According to a new release from Human Rights Watch, the deceased was Tenzin Nyima, a monk from Wenpo Monastery in Wenpo Township, Ganzi District, Sichuan Province. The source said the monk was first arrested in November 2019, two days before his arrest, along with three other monks who were distributing leaflets outside the local Wenpo government office shouting slogans for Tibetan independence. At the Time, local officials were under increasing pressure to forcibly resettle herdsmen and asked local residents to publicly praise the government’s “poverty alleviation” program.
In a written message, Human Rights Watch China Director Sophie Richardson said, “Once again, the Chinese Communist authorities have turned arbitrary detentions into death sentences. They should hold all those responsible for the brutal killing of Tibetan monk Tenzin Nyima accountable.”
Human Rights Watch said Chinese Communist authorities released Tenzin Nyima in May 2020, but re-arrested him on Aug. 11 for spreading news about the arrest online, including his links to India. in early October, authorities notified Tenzin Nyima’s Family to take him back. Tibetans in exile abroad familiar with the monk’s condition said he was unable to speak or move, had serious injuries and was suffering from an acute respiratory infection, the organization said. They believe the monk was beaten and malnourished and mistreated while in custody.
Human Rights Watch said Tenzin Nyima was unconscious when he was taken to a Chengdu hospital on Oct. 9. A hospital report obtained by the organization shows he had been in critical condition for 10 days when he was handed over to his family. Tenzin Nyima’s treatment at the hospital was also delayed until his family came up with 40,000 yuan in medical bills, the group said. Several weeks after his admission, doctors declared his injuries untreatable and discharged him from the hospital.
On December 1, Tenzin Nyima’s family sent him to a hospital in the Ganzi region for treatment. Doctors at the hospital also discharged him because his injuries were untreatable. Other evidence obtained by Human Rights Watch indicates that he was in a paralyzed state and in critical condition. The monk died shortly after being taken Home by relatives.
HRW said that the Chinese police and prison system routinely mistreat prisoners, and that such conditions are particularly severe in ethnic minority areas. The organization urged the Chinese Communist authorities to order a prompt and impartial investigation into Tenzin Nyima’s abusive death and to provide fair and adequate compensation to his family, as required by the UN Convention against Torture.
In June 2020, UN human rights experts emphasized in a collective statement the need for the Chinese government to conduct an independent investigation into a range of human rights violations. Expressing grave concern over China’s failure to respect human rights and meet its international obligations, they recommended the establishment of an impartial and independent UN monitoring mechanism to monitor and report on abuses that have occurred in Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet.
New York-based Human Rights Watch also said the cases of Tenzin Nyima and six other Tibetans began in the Shigatse Intermediate Court on Dec. 10 and Dec. 12, respectively. on Dec. 14, four monks and two local youths from Wombo Monastery were sentenced to one to five years in prison for their participation in protests in November 2019.
The oldest of the six was 23 years old and the youngest was 16; the most heavily sentenced was Nyimay, a 22-year-old monk. Human Rights Watch said he did not participate in the leaflet-distribution protest, but posted on social media about the arrest of the other four monks. He was charged with so-called “inciting secession. Local reports also mentioned that he was accused of leaking state secrets for posting information online.
The group said Tsultrim, the youngest of the six, was 15 years old at the time of the protest and was sentenced in violation of China’s own laws; under Chinese law, minors should not be criminally tried unless they are involved in serious violent crimes such as murder or arson.
Two other young men from Wimpo, Choegyal, the eldest brother of Nimine, and his friend Yonten, were sentenced to four years in prison for “inciting secession” for distributing leaflets and chanting slogans outside the local government on Nov. 21, 2019.
Authorities arrested some 30 monks and lay Tibetans following the protest in Wunpo, of whom seven were brought to trial.
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