Former political prisoners' group observe ‘International day in support of torture victims’/ENG

2018. június 26./Phayul.com/TibetPress

eredeti cikk

By Tenzin Dharpo

DHARAMSHALA, June 26: The association of former political prisoners Gu-Chu-Sum movement on Tuesday observed the ‘International Day in Support of Torture Victims’ here at Tibetan Children’s Village school in solidarity with Tibetans and political prisoners in occupied Tibet as well as those around the globe.

Gu-Chu-Sum’s executive member Sonam Dorjee said that Tibetans have suffered and continue to suffer both physical and mental torture under repressive Chinese policies inside Tibet. He said that Tibetan political prisoners suffer torture during their incarceration that are in gross violation of International norms and are kept under surveillance after their release with their movements severely curtailed by the state. He added that ordinary Tibetans whose daily lives are marred by meticulous surveillance undergoes mental torture under China.

Former Tibetan political prisoners have recounted over the years that Chinese prisons are notorious for torture tactics such as ‘Tiger Chair’ and ‘Carrying the sword in the back’ as well as starvation and freezing detainees.

Dorjee said that his organization will continue to lobby and work towards the release of all Tibetan political prisoners that are in Chinese prisons across occupied Tibet in addition to creating awareness on their plight and mistreatment by China.

Gu-Chu-Sum conducted an awareness drive with Tibetan students at TCV where students expressed their solidarity with their fellow countrymen by drawing out expressions on the issue.

Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy has said in their latest annual report that there had been 31 confirmed cases of ‘deaths in detentions’ of Tibetans in Chinese prisons inside Tibet since 2008, including the high-profile case of religious figure Tulku Tenzin Delek who perished under mysterious circumstances in July 2015. Torture, squalid conditions, improper diet and lack of medical facilities or deliberate actions towards deterioration in the health of detainees, experts say, contribute to such “alarming” statistics.