amnesty international
PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA
Tibet: Appeal for Ngawang Choephel
28 March 1996 AI INDEX: ASA 17/49/96
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DISTR: REL CO/GR/SC
Ngawang Choephel, a 29 year-old Tibetan exile, is reported to
have been detained in Tibet since August 1995. He had travelled
there in July 1995 to make a film documentary about traditional
Tibetan performing arts and was first reported missing by his
mother who was expecting him to return to India in December.
According to exiled Tibetan businessman Dorji Rinchen, who was
released from detention in Tibet in October 1995, Ngawang
Choephel is currently being held in Nyari detention centre in
Shigatse. Dorji Rinchen left Tibet two years ago to settle in India,
but was detained by police in Shigatse on 14 August 1995 while
visiting relatives. In September 1995 Dorji Rinchen was moved to
Nyari detention centre and on 16 September he "was shocked to
see two prison officials bringing in Ngawang Choephel". Dorji
Rinchen had previously met Ngawang Choephel in Nepal.
During two brief conversations in Nyari detention centre, Ngawang Choephel told Dorji
Rinchen that he had been detained from the marketplace in Shigatse and he talked about the
work he had been doing recording traditional Tibetan music and dance on video. He also
said that his travel documents, camera and two video tapes had been confiscated. Dorji
Rinchen said that at the time of his release, on 8 October 1995, "Ngawang Choephel was
still in prison at that time and he appeared to be in good health".
The exact date of Ngawang Choephel's detention in Shigatse is not known. Before being
seen by Dorji Rinchen in Nyari detention centre he was last seen on 20 August 1995 when
he parted from his travelling companion in Lhasa with the intention of travelling alone to
Shigatse before returning to India in November. During his visit, Ngawang Choephel had
been questioned by police about his filming on more than one occasion and had also been
asked to show his travel documents.
Dorji Rinchen's testimony gives a detailed account of him being tortured and ill-treated in
Nyari detention centre, including being "strapped and stretched on a wooden plank and left
without food for the night" and of being placed in solitary confinement without food or
clothing. He says that he was beaten and hit with sticks, "they hit me all over my body and
boxed my face. My eyes were stung with each blow. During the whole interrogation session,
I was handcuffed and by the time they had finished questioning and torturing me, my wrists
were bleeding". He also describes his conditions of detention saying that he was given
boiled water for breakfast, lunch was the last meal of the day and consistedof either a
Tibetan bun or rice, with boiled water to drink. His relatives were not allowed to bring food
or clothing. Dorji Rinchen was released after 54 days in detention and left Tibet on 13
October.
In a document given to Dorji Rinchen's wife by the authorities, the reason given for his
detention was that he did not have valid travel documents. However, Dorji Rinchen says that
he was accused by the police of "carrying documents about the Panchen Lama reincarnation
issue produced by the Tibetan government-in-exile", and that he was also accused of having
"come to Tibet with the purpose of disrupting the 30th anniversary celebrations of the Tibet
Autonomous Region". Dorji Rinchen reported having heard from other prisoners that Nyari
detention centre holds more than 500 prisoners, all but two of whom are Tibetans and that
the majority are detained for political reasons.
While he was in the detention centre, Dorji Rinchen met Lobsang Tsultrim, a 20 year-old
monk from Tashilhunpo monastery, of which the Panchen Lama is the traditional head.
Amnesty International remains concerned about the abbot and many monks from the
monastery, as well as several laypeople, who have spent several months in detention in
connection with the disputed choice of the reincarnation of the 10th Panchen Lama. It also
remains concerned about Gendun Choekyi Nyima, a six year-old boy announced by the
Dalai Lama to be the 11th Panchen Lama, and his family, who have been missing from their
home since May 1995.
Originally from Tibet, Ngawang Choephel and his family went to live in India when he was
two years old. Ngawang Choephel studied up to the age of 15 in the Central School for
Tibetans, in Mundgod Tibetan settlement in South India. He later joined the Tibetan
Institute of Performing Arts in Dharamsala, from where he obtained a diploma in Tibetan
music and dance and went on to become a music and dance teacher. He studied music for
one year on a prestigious scholarship at Middlebury College, Vermont, in the United States.
Footnotes:
1. Ngawang Choephel has an Indian Identity Certificate but as this is not recognized for travel
in China he travelled to Tibet as an "overseas Chinese" visitor with a document issued by the
Chinese authorities in India.
2. See AI documents: 6-year old boy missing and over 50 detained in Panchen Lama dispute,
ASA 17/07/96, 18 January 1996, Three detained in Panchen Lama controversy, ASA 17/40/95,
20 June 1995, and Crackdown on Tibetan dissent continues, ASA 17/74/95, 29 September 1995.
Please send telegrams/telexes/express and airmail letters in English, Chinese or in your own
language,
urging the immediate and unconditional release of Ngawang Choephel unless he is charged with a
recognizable criminal offence;
urging the immediate and unconditional release of Lobsang Tsultrim and all other prisoners in
Nyari detention centre unless they are charged with recognizable criminal offences;
urging an immediate enquiry into the torture and ill-treatment of Dorji Rinchen and seeking
assurance that the perpetrators are brought to justice;
seeking assurance that all current detainees at Nyari detention centre are treated humanely in
accordance with international standards, write to
President of the Tibet Autonomous Regional
People's Government
Gyaltsen Norbu Zhuxi
Xizang Zizhiqu Renmin Zhengfu
1 Kang'angdonglu
Lasashi 850000
Xizang Zizhiqu
People's Republic of China
Telexes: 68014 FAOLT CN or 68007
PGVMT CN
Salutation: Dear President
Telegram: President of the Regional People's
Government, Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous
Region, People's Republic of China
Director of the Department of Public Security
Bureau
Nyima Tsering Juzhang
Gong'anju
Kung Jue Lin Zhe lu er hao
Shigatseshi
Xizang Zizhiqu
People's Republic of China
Salutation: Dear Director
Telegram: Director of the Department of
Public Security, Shigatse, Tibet Autonomous
Region, People's Republic of China
Mayor of Shigatse City
Tsewang Palden Shizhang
Shigatse Shizhengfu
Kung Jue Lin Zhe lu er hao
Shigatseshi
Xizang Zizhiqu
People's Republic of China
Salutation: Dear Mayor
Telegram: The Mayor, Shigatse, Tibet
Autonomous Region, People's Republic of
China
3 May 1996 is Ngawang Choephel's 30th
birthday, greetings can be sent to him c/o
The Director of Nyari Detention Centre
Nyari Kanshousuo Suozhang
Shigatseshi
Xizang Zizhiqu
People's Republic of China
Salutation: Dear Director
Telegram: Director of Nyari Detention
Centre, Shigatse, Tibet
Autonomous Region, People's Republic of
China
This document is sent to China and CHIRAN Coordinators for action by groups. It is sent to
Sections for information only. Check with the East Asia Sub-Regional Team if sending appeals
after May 1996.
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