Source: Amnesty International

Date: May 30, 1995

Hundreds of Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns, some of them child

novices as young as 12 years old, have been imprisoned simply

for peacefully expressing their support for Tibet's independence

from China.

"Tibetan children accused of political offences have been

tortured or ill-treated, held with adult prisoners and forced to

do hard labour," said Amnesty International today as it released a

new report: Persistent Human Rights Violations in Tibet.

Repression of political dissent has increased during the

past two years in the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's

Republic of China, according to the human rights organization's

report. By the end of 1994, there were more than 600 political

prisoners, nearly one in three being women. The figure includes 45

young people under 18 at the time of their arrest.

Torture, ill-treatment and unfair trials are often part of

the reality for Tibetans of all ages imprisoned in the crackdown

on peaceful pro-independence protests. Buddhist monks and nuns

have taken the lead in such demonstrations, partly because the

Chinese authorities have placed restrictions on religious

activities, such as a ban on photographs of the Tibetan spiritual

leaders, the Dalai Lama, and strict limitations on the number of

monks and nuns permitted in Tibetan monasteries.

Despite their youth, Tibetan children have often been

detained as prisoners of conscience for chanting slogans and

peacefully demonstrating. And in violations of both Chinese and

international law, children have been reportedly held

incommunicado, denied trials, beaten, made to do heavy labour with

adults and subjected to electric shocks.

According to reports received by Amnesty International:

Champa Tsondrue and Lobsand Choezin, both 17 at the time

of their arrest in 1994, are novice monks who joined two others in

chanting slogans protesting a police raid against a nunnery

outside the regional capital of Lhasa. All four were severely

beaten when arrested and remain in Gutsa Detention Centre.

Sherab Ngawang was 12 years old at the time of her arrest

in 1992 during a peaceful demonstration. Still believed to be a

prisoners of conscience, she was reportedly beaten during

detention before being sentenced to three years' "re- education

through labour".

Former detainee "E" was a novice nun aged 15 when

arrested in 1991. During detention at Gutsa Detention Centre, she

said she was "beaten very badly by a Chinese official who kicked

me with his boots on my thighs."

Former detainee "G", a 12-year-old girl, was detained in

Sangyip Detention Centre for more than four months in 1990. She

told of being kicked in the head and body, then shocked with an

electric baton while lying on the floor. Eventually released, she

has lost the use of her left leg and right arm.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,

signed and ratified by the People's Republic of China, prohibits

torture and ill-treatment of children. The convention also

obligates China to separate child prisoners from adults, and use

imprisonment of a child only as a measure of last resort and for

the shortest possible time.

Yet Amnesty International has received evidence that

juvenile political detainees in Tibet are routinely mixed with

adult political prisoners, under harsh conditions of detention

including hard labour. Torture is frequently used during

interrogation or as punishment in prisons or in

"reform-through-labour" camps.

Other young adult monks and nuns died shortly after being

released from prison, following severe ill-treatment. A

20-year-old Tibetan nun died last year while serving a five- year

prison sentence for taking part in a brief pro-independence

demonstration in 1992. Chinese officials said Phuntsog Yangkyi,

considered a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International, died

from a tuberculoma. Amnesty International believes that the

official account of the causes of her death is not satisfactory.

Independent medical experts say tuberculoma should not cause death

provided that normal medical care is available.

Questions still remain in the death of Gyaltsen Kelsang.

Arrested in 1993 with 11 other Buddhist nuns from Garu Nunnery,

she was accused of taking part in a pro- independence

demonstration. Sentenced to two years' imprisonment, Gyaltsen

Kelsang was reportedly badly beaten when in prison, then put to

hard labour. Diagnosed as suffering from kidney problems, she was

released on medical parole in early 1995 and died a few weeks

later at her parents' home.

Some of the political prisoners in Tibet detained during the

past two years have been held without charge or trial, while

others were sentenced to prison terms after unfair trials. Amnesty

International is concerned that trial procedures in Tibet, as

elsewhere in the People's Republic of China, fall far short of

international standards for fairness. The right to defence is

extremely limited, while confessions --- often extracted under

torture --- are used as evidence. Defendants have no right to call

witnesses and have little time or facilities to prepare their

defence.

In view of its continuing concerns about human rights violations in Tibet, including concerns of juvenile political prisoners, Amnesty International is calling on the Chinese Government to:

- release immediately and unconditionally all prisoners of

conscience;

- investigate all reports of torture;

- ensure those held in detention are charged and brought to

trial promptly and fairly, or released; and

- fully implement its commitments to observe the UN

Convention on the Rights of the Child.