In a very sad update from Tibet, a Tibetan woman has been tortured in Chinese custody dies after two days of transferring to hospital. The information reported today took place in August this year and the delayed reporting is due to highly restricted communication system inside Tibet. Apart from the woman, two others have been detained on same charges.
Lhamo 36 is a mother of three who died two days after being transferred from police custody to a hospital in August this year. According to the report by Human Rights Watch, Lhamo was detained on charges of sending money to family members in India in June. She was detained two days after detaining her cousin Tharpa on same charges.
According to report by Central Tibetan Administration, following Lhamo’s arrest, the local police searched her home, confiscating picture, religious teachings books and DVDs of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Within two months of Lhamo’s arrest, in August her family members were summoned by the authorities to a police hospital. Lhamo was bruised severely that she was unrecognizable to her family members and was unable to speak to them. Two days later, she died in the hospital. Her family members pleaded to the authorities to allow them to perform traditional rituals for Lhamo but the authorities forced the family members to cremate her body immediately.
CTA President Dr. Lobsang Sangay has stated according the report that the custodial death of Lhamo, a Tibetan mother of three, just for sending money abroad, portrays the critical reality of how oppressive the Chinese policies in Tibet is. Jailing and torturing Tibetans to death for sending money to their family members is completely against the laws, Chinese or international. China must put an end to the continued mistreatment and abuse of Tibetans in Tibet and respect human rights in Tibet.
Although sending money outside the country is not formally a crime under Chinese law, the authorities regard contact between Tibetans in Tibet and those abroad as “endangering national security. The Chinese government regards any contact between Tibetans in Tibet and their relatives and friends abroad, specifically India, as illegal and subversive.
The cases also illustrate the Chinese government’s long-running mistreatment of Tibetans, Human Rights Watch said. HRW China director Sophie Richardson has stated that the death of Lhamo in Chinese state custody should be held accountable for serious violations and deprivation of the right to life.
“The death of Lhamo, a Tibetan herder, is the latest in a pattern of apparent torture and death in Chinese state custody,” said Sophie Richardson, China director. “Tibetan regional authorities should be held accountable for serious violations, including arbitrary detention, torture or ill-treatment, and deprivation of the right to life.”
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