Tibetan guide Konchok Jinpa, 51, died in a hospital in Lhasa, Tibet, on Feb. 6, according to a news release Tuesday from the New York-based international human rights organization Human Rights Watch. He had been detained by authorities on Nov. 8, 2013, and was subsequently sentenced to 21 years in prison on charges of leaking state secrets for providing information about local protests to overseas media, among other things.
“In a statement, Human Rights Watch called for an investigation into Gonzaga’s death and demanded an explanation from the Chinese government.
Voice of America quoted Sophie Richardson, China director of Human Rights Watch, as saying, “Gonchozinpa’s death is yet another grim case of mistreatment of Tibetans wrongfully imprisoned by the Chinese Communist authorities, who have been guilty of arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment leading to the death of a Tibetan. Those responsible for the arbitrary detentions, torture, and deaths of detainees should be held accountable.”
Human Rights Watch cited local sources as disclosing that Gonchogzinpa is believed to have suffered a brain hemorrhage and paralysis while serving his sentence at a prison in Nyetang, a township near Lhasa. Authorities admitted him from prison to a local hospital in Lhasa last November without informing his Family. On Jan. 29 this year, the family learned that Gonchai Jinpa was receiving emergency treatment and rushed to the hospital to donate blood, but they were not able to meet him in person.
The statement noted that Gonchozinpa, a resident of the town of Nagqu, for example, was detained in October 2013 for peacefully protesting against the authorities’ requirement that every household fly the Chinese flag. He had also provided messages to overseas Tibetan media through social media platforms about people protesting against authorities’ mining at a sacred mountain.
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