(TibetanReview.net, Sep15’20) – A prefecture-level court in a traditionally Tibetan area of Sichuan Province has sentenced nine people to jail terms after convicting them for splittism, said Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) Sep 14, citing San Francisco-based prisoners right advocacy group Duihua.
China jails Tibetans for splittism not just for demanding independence but also for any kind of call made or activities carried out for preserving their language, culture, religious freedom, or often anything not approved by the Chinese government.
The nine, all Tibetans, had been “convicted of inciting splittism” by the Kardze (Chinese: Ganzi) Prefecture Intermediate People’s Court in Sichuan, Duihua has said, citing “a reliable Chinese government source.” Three of them have been tried for arson as well.
They were convicted as charged on five different dates from Jun 30 to Aug 31, with three of them being convicted on Aug 28. It was not stated how long the jail sentences were.
Besides, apart from their names rendered in pinyin by Duihua, there is no information on the convicted Tibetans and their activities which earned them the convictions.
ICT, attempting to render the names in the usual English spelling, has listed the nine Tibetans as: Choethar (Qute), sentenced on Aug 31; Dolma Tsering (Zhuoma Zeren), Drakpa (Zhaba), and Tsering Yeshi (Cili Yixi), sentenced on Aug 28; Penpa (Bingba), Namkha Gyaltsen (Langka Jiangze), Pema Tsethar (Baima Zeta), sentenced on Aug 7; Bhutruk (Buzhu), sentenced on Jul 2, and Bhudhar (Buda), sentenced on Jun 30.
These names show at least one of them to be definitely a woman.
Penpa, Namkha Gyaltsen, and Pema Tsethar were the three charged additionally with arson.
ICT said there had been no public record of the detention of these individuals according to available information.
