Dharamsala: A former Tibetan political prisoner, Shonu Palden, aged 41, passed away on 30 September 2018, after battling prolonged illness due to torture in detention as confirmed by our sources.
Shonu Palden was arrested on 18 June 2012 for his involvement in 2008 mass protest. He was held in incommunicado detention for more than two months at Machu County Detention Centre, Machu County, Kanlho (Ch: Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gansu Province, traditionally part of Tibet’s Amdo region. He was later sentenced to two years and nine months imprisonment for spearheading protests in March 2008 in Machu County but he was released before completing his sentence on 24 July 2013 with multiple health complications.
The health complications faced by Shonu Palden were caused due to the torture-related injuries he suffered during incommunicado detention. Persons held in incommunicado detention by the Chinese authorities are not allowed to communicate with the outside world or inform anyone about their detention. They do not have any access to counsel or physicians and are often subjected to rigorous interrogation and severe torture.
Shonu Palden was kept in incommunicado detention for more than two months where he was subjected to excruciating torture resulting in grave injuries. These injuries were not attended to when he was in prison. After his release, Shonu Palden underwent two major surgeries and was bedridden for a long time. The belated medical treatment did very little to elevate his pain and Shonu Palden passed away on 30 September 2018 at the age of 41 years.
Shonu Palden is survived by his wife and three children-two daughters-Namgyal Dolma, 10, and Tashi Dolma, 5, and a son Tenzin Kunkyab, 8.
-Filed by UN, EU & Human Rights Desk, DIIR