Tuesday, January 6, 2009

China releases prisoners for fear of death in custody

China has begun to release Tibetan prisoners who are likely to succumb to injuries of torture and beatings in prison. This has been an old tactic of the Chinese authorities to escape the blame of a prisoner’s death in prison, say right groups.


"They (China) are turning Tibetan prisoners into live corpses, and handing them over to the families to avoid being blamed for their deaths", said Tenzin Choeying of Students for a Free Tibet, India.


According to the Voice of Tibet radio service, China has released a Tibetan named Guru Dorji from Kardze ahead of his prison term after brutally torturing him in prison. Citing reliable sources, the VOT reported that Guru’s villagers were called by prison authorities to pick him up on January 1. The villagers brought him back to his home the next day in a feeble state. Guru’s wife had passed away while he was in prison. He expressed sadness for he could not see her but said he was not worried about his death lingering on him. Anticipating his death, Guru had distributed his properties among his two children and urged his fellow villagers to take care of them. Guru’s villagers who went to fetch him were forced to sign a letter accepting that he would not participate in any protests should he recover from his injuries.
Sources told VOT that Guru vomited what he ate, and that his condition was serious.


In another incident, a girl name Rigden lhamo, 21, from Kardze was handed over to her family around December 25, 2008, as authorities feared she might succumb to her injuries in prison. She was seriously injured during the protests on May 28, 2008 and was later imprisoned.


On December 22, Rinchen and Jampa Dolma of Getsul nunnery in Kardze were also released prior to their scheduled release date. They were arrested along with two other nuns of Getsul nunnery for their participation in protests on May 22 in Kardze. However, the reasons for their release could not be confirmed yet.


Another nun named Dolma Yangtso of Laru nunnery in Sertha had informed her family of her being sentenced to 2 years in prison. She was fatally wounded after she was shot at by Chinese security during a protest on August 10, 2008, in Kardze.

In
http://www.phayul.com/news/article.aspx?id=23570&article=China+releases+prisoners+for+fear+of+death+in+custody

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