Chinese Courts Continue to Hand Down Harsh Jail Terms to Tibetans Saturday, 30 May 2009, 11:01 a.m.

Tsultrim Gyatso of Labrang Monastery sentenced to life by  a Chinese court on 21 May 2009.

Dharamshala: Two
Tibetan monks from Labrang Monastery have been slapped with harsh
prison terms ranging from 15 years to life for their role in the
peaceful protests that took place in Sangchu County on 15 March 2008.
The Intermediate People’s Court in Kanlho Tibet Autonomous Prefecture
(incorporated into China’s Kansu Province) issued the verdict on 21 May. The court announced life imprisonment for 37-year-old Tsultrim Gyatso and 15-year jail term for Thabkhey Gyatso, aged 34.
The family members of the two monks were not intimated about the court
verdict. The monk named Thabkhey Gyatso is believed to be in hospital
due to poor health. Meanwhile, a court in Chamdo Prefecture
in Tibet Autonomous Prefecture has sentenced 9 Tibetan monks to jail,
who protested against the Chinese government at Jomda County in January
this year and later arrested in April. The monks belong to Denma Choekhor Monastery.

Tenzin Gyaltsen,(L) abbot, and Tador (R) of Denma Choekhor Monastery in Jomda County in Chamdo Prefecture, TAR, sentenced to 15 years in jail.

Among
those sentenced, Khenpo (abbot) Tenzin Gyaltsen, aged 37; Nyiche, aged
15, former monastery prefect; Ngawang Tashi, aged 51; Tador, aged 40
have each received 15-year imprisonment. The abbot, who ran away after
the protest was later arrested by Public Security Bureau in Jeykundo on
1 April. Forty-year-old Jamyang Sherab and Tsering Palden, aged 36, were sentenced to 13 and 12 years in jail respectively. While three more monks, Nyima Tsering, Lhundup and Tashi Dawa, were given jail terms varying from one to one and half years.
In another case, a court in Lhasa sentenced a monk named Lodoe to 10
years in prison. Lodoe belongs to Onpo Monastery in Sershul County in
Karze Tibet Autonomous Prefecture and was doing studies at Sera
Monastery in Lhasa. He was arrested along with 13 Tibetans
on charges of unfurling banned Tibetan national flag in front of
Tsuglakhang, the main temple in Lhasa in March 2008. His father named
Ga Ye was also detained in connection with the same incident and fined.

Lhundup (L) and Nyima Tsering (R) of Denma Choekhor Monastery given imprisonment for terms  ranging from one to one and half years

While
the whereabouts of a group of monks from Onpo monastery, including
Adrel Rinpoche, who were arrested last year still remain unknown. The
monks were arrested in Sershul County and brought to Lhasa to provide
medical treatment during which they were detained by PSB officials on
16 March 2008. In yet another case, police in Karze County
have arrested two Tibetans in Jeykundo in April on charges of
protesting against the Chinese government on 18 March last year. The
two are brothers and has been identified as Tenpa, aged 30 and Jamdo,
aged 25. The two brothers remained at large hiding on hills
for the last one year following the protests. However, the police
apprehended the two Tibetans police last month. The whereabouts of the
two monks still remain.