New Evidence of Tibetan Political Prisoners

By Rohini Kejriwal / August 22, 2014;

Gonpo Trinley’s laogai prison release order issued by Deyang Prison near Chengdu city
Photo: TCHRD

New proof of the harsh treatments imposed in Tibet during and after the 2008 Tibetan Uprising has been received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) in the form of a list of 45 Tibetans from Sichuan Province who were arrested between 2008 and 2009.

All 45 were held in Deyang Prison, Huang Xu Town, Deyang City, in the Sichuan Province. The list was compiled by former prisoner Gonpo Trinley, 25, who smuggled it out of Tibet when he crossed the border into India earlier this month. Gonpo based his list on Tibetans he knew while held in prison from 2008-2009. It names ten Tibetans who are still in prison, with two serving life sentences, and also includes 18 former and current prisoners who were not listed in the TCHRD Political Prisoners Database.

Gonpo has told his own story. Brought up as a farmer in Serkhar Township, he joined the Sakya Nyadrag Monastery at 17 to become a monk. During the 2008 Tibetan Uprising, Gonpo and his cousin Nyida Sangpo staged a non-violent protest outside the Kardze County police station. They distributed leaflets and shouted slogans demanding the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet. People’s Armed Police officers showed up within minutes and began beating them, and then detained them for six months. Gonpo and 14 other Tibetan detainees, including Nyida, were paraded around town as the government warned the public that they would “strike hard on criminals”. After a year of imprisonment, Gonpo was sentenced to two years and six months of “reform through labour” and deprived of political rights for two years. His prison release order shows that he was charged with “incitement to split the country”.

In prison, Gonpo was put to work making canvas shoes, with severe punishments if work targets were not met. The diet was poor, prisoners could speak to family members for only 15 minutes once a month, and even after his release in October 2010 his movements were constantly monitored and he was required to report his weekly activities to the Public Security Bureau. After extensive travel, Gonpo finally reached Nepal in June this year and arrived in India earlier this month. Throughout all his travels, he carried the list of his fellow Tibetan prisoners from Deyang Prison.