(TibetanReview.net, Mar02, 2015) – Despite official claims otherwise and laws banning it, torture remains endemic in Chinese ruled Tibet and there had been at least 14 deaths as a direct result of it over the period of 2009-2014, said Washington-based International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) in a report Feb 26.
The report, “Torture and Impunity – 29 Cases of Tibetan Political Prisoners”, details cases of those 14 Tibetans. They include the cases of an educated Tibetan in his early forties and a Buddhist teacher, both of whom died as a result of torture in custody. Besides, 15 others, while having survived, continue to remain in torment.
The report also details the impact of imprisonment – be it extra-judicial, interrogation or a formal sentence – on the lives of Tibetan political prisoners who had been released over the past two years. Their ordeals became known to the outside world despite rigorous Chinese government controls on information flow, the group said.
Said President Mr Matteo Mecacci: “This report documents that since the unrest and crackdown in 2008, torture appears to have become more widespread and directed at a broader sector of society in Tibet. In particular, a younger generation of Tibetans is paying a high price with their lives for peacefully expressing their views about the oppressive policies implemented by the Chinese Government.”
The group said torture was endemic in the judicial and law enforcement system of Chinese ruled Tibet due to political emphasis on ensuring ‘stability’ as well as on account of a culture of impunity imposed from the highest levels of the Chinese leadership.
The report is to be presented to the UN Committee Against Torture and to other UN rights mechanisms during the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.