Apr 04, 2014

Tibet: Two Village Leaders Jailed For Ten Years


The two Tibetan village leaders in Tibet’s Driru County, under arrest since last November for not having prevented demonstrations against Chinese rule in Tibet, have now been given jail sentences for ten years. Demonstrations against Chinese repression in the region has steadily increased over the past few years. 

Below is an article published by Tibetan Review

Two village leaders in Tibet’s Driru (Chinese: Biru) County, Nagchu (Naqu) Prefecture, had been given lengthy jail sentences on Jan 14 [2014] for failing to prevent protests against Chinese rule, said Dharamsala-based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy Apr 3 [2014]. Ngangtak, 54, and Rigsal, 31, have been jailed for 10 years each after having remained disappeared since their arrest on Nov 24 last year.

News about the sentencing of the two village leaders became known only from anonymous sources in the county’s police department, the Public Security Bureau, the centre said. 

The two were leaders of the county’s Mokhyim Village, whose residents had carried out a series of protests against the Chinese government and its policies last year. They were among the around 1,000 Tibetans from villages across Driru County who protested at the Driru County-town against the launch of China’s “mass line” campaign in the area. Under it Tibetans were ordered to fly the red flag of communist ruled China over all the homes and monastery rooftops. They also protested when the Chinese government shut down the local Drong Na Monastery in Nov 2013, along with the detention and jailing of many of its monks.

The centre said Ngangtak, married with children and village leader since 1980, was also accused of having held a secret political meeting with 17 others at his home and of instigating fellow villagers against the Chinese authorities last year. Rigsal, father of three, has been village leader since 2007.

A third Mokhyim resident, named as Trigyal, aged 54 and father of five, was jailed for 13 years. It was not clear why or when.

The centre said Driru County had witnessed sustained protests against Chinese repression over the past several years, with the situation deteriorating considerably since last year. It added that there had been numerous known and unknown arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, torture and even shooting of unarmed protesters there in Chinese reprisal actions.