A Tibetan Woman Succumbs to Torture

5 May 2008

A Tibetan woman in Ngaba County died after being subjected to brutal
torture by the Chinese prison guards, according to confirmed
information received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and
Democracy (TCHRD).

A 38 year-old Nechung, mother of four children died days after
being subjected to brutal torture in the Chinese prison. She hailed
from Charu Hu Village in Ngaba County, Ngaba "TAP", Sichuan Province.

Sources told TCHRD that she was involved in peaceful protests
on 16 and 17 March 2008 in Ngaba County. Later on 18 March, she was
arrested by the Chinese security forces for allegedly being the first
person to pull down the door plate of the Township office.

On 26 March 2008, she was released from the prison. She spent
nine days in prison undergoing brutal torture in the hands of Chinese
prison guards. At the time of her release from the prison, her health
was in an extremely critical condition. There were many bruise marks on
her body, she was unable to speak and eat food, constantly vomiting and
could hardly breathe properly.

After the release, her relatives immediately took her to the
County government hospital for treatment. However, the County
government hospital refused to admit her to the hospital to receive
timely medical treatment, apparently under influence and intimidation
of the local Chinese authorities. She was completely denied from
accessing timely medical treatment in the hospital.

After remaining in critical condition for 22 days without
medical treatment she died on 17 April 2008 in abject state of neglect,
pity and apathy of local Chinese authorities. Even after her death, the
Chinese authorities issued terse warning to Tibetan monks for offering
prayers and ritual rites for her deceased soul. This goes to show that
the Chinese authorities traverse extreme lengths to deprive Tibetan
people of their basic and fundamental human rights in a cruel and
bizarre abuse of power.

She is survived by her four children, all minors. Her husband
has been on the run since her arrest, apparently to avoid being
arrested by the Chinese security forces.

TCHRD expresses its serious concern at the cases of Tibetans
tortured to death by the Chinese security forces in recent months. This
is a clear indication that China still continues to resort to
widespread use of torture in prisons to deal with the Tibetan prisoners
of conscience. TCHRD urges the Chinese government to immediately put an
end to torture tactics to extract confessions in the detention centres.
TCHRD also calls upon the international bodies and vital organs to the
UN to protect the basic and fundamental rights of the Tibetan people in
Tibet.