DHARAMSHALA: Amnesty International, an international human rights watch dog released its 2015 annual report documenting the state of human rights in 160 countries and territories including Tibet during 2014. Some key events from 2013 were also reported.

In their section on Tibet under the sub heading China, they have stated that ethnic Tibetans continue to face discrimination and restrictions on their rights to freedoms of religious belief, expression, association and assembly. Several Tibetan monastic leaders, writers, protesters and activists were also detained, the report said.

“In August 2014, Tibetan demonstrators were reportedly shot by police and security forces in Kardze (in Chinese: Ganzi), Sichuan Province, where a crowd had gathered to protest against the detention of a village leader. At least four demonstrators died from their wounds and one protester committed suicide in detention,” it said.

The report also gave an account of the wave of self-immolation protests that swept Tibet since 2009. “Seven people set themselves on fire in Tibetan populated areas in 2014 in protest against repressive policies by the authorities; at least two died as a result. The number of known self-immolations since March 2011 rose to 131,” the report said, adding, the authorities targeted relatives and friends of those who self-immolated for allegedly “inciting” or “abetting” such acts.

“In some counties, family members of self-immolators, or those who have attended the Dalai Lama’s teachings, were sympathetic towards the “Dalai Clique” or had “connections overseas”, were barred from senior positions or from standing as candidates in village elections,” it stated.

The over 400-page annual report was released on 25 February.

The report also contained features celebrating those who stand up for human rights across the world, often in difficult and dangerous circumstances.