(TibetanReview.net, Feb02, 2018) – A Tibetan nun was reported to have died on Jan 27 near Tibet’s capital Lhasa as a result of ailments incurred from severe ill-treatment during her seven years in prison for protesting against Chinese rule. Ngawang Tsomo, 51, died while waiting in hospital for treatment in Phenpo Lhundrub (Chinese: Linzhou) County, reported the Tibetan Service of Radio Free Asia (Washington) Jan 31.
She was said to have developed an acute headache while in prison from 1993 to 2000 and was unable to seek proper treatment following her release. After her condition became more serious recently, she was taken to the county hospital but, tragically, passed away in the corridor of the building while waiting to receive treatment, the report cited an anonymous local source as saying.
The immediate cause of her death is unclear.
The nun was arrested in 1993 after she took part in a peaceful protest with several other people in Lhasa, calling for an end to Chinese rule in Tibet.
She was among the group in Lhasa’s Drapchi Prison who in 1998 raised slogans for freedom in Tibet when authorities tried to force them to salute the flag and sing the anthem of China. Prison guards had responded by firing live rounds at the prisoners, killing two of them.
The surviving protesting prisoners were subjected to severe ill-treatment. Tsomo endured it all and was released in 2000 after completing her jail sentence. However, she continued to remain ill. Banned from rejoining her nunnery, she undertook retreat and was forced to do all sorts of odd jobs to earn her living until her passing away.
