KUXING : T O R T U R E I N T I B E T A Special Report Tibetan Centre for Human Rights & Democracy ○○○○○○○ 2 K U X I N G : T O R T U R E I N T I B E T This special report is dedicated to all the Tibetans who died due to torture in Chinese occupied Tibet. ○○○○○○○ 3 5 Preface 7 Introduction 8 Definition and existing UN legal instruments on torture 11 Torture in Tibet 26 International and domestics mechanisms on torture 26○○○○○○ i) United Nations Convention Against Torture (CAT) 28 ○○○○○○ ii) UN backed mechanism devoted to eradication of torture 33 ○○○○○○ iii) Torture in Chinese constitution 39 Known death of Tibetan political prisoners as a result of torture 40 Pro-independence activism and aftermath 43 Martial law decreed in Lhasa 45 Recent change of epicenter 47 Common torture methods 54 Psychological aspects of torture in Tibet 57 Torture accounts of former political prisoners 62 ○○○○○○ i) Driven to suicide and insanity 65 ○○○○○○ ii) Extreme torture 71 ○○○○○○ iii) Forced confession through electric shocks & chilly fires 76 ○○○○○○ iv) Lack of medical treatment 78 ○○○○○○ v) Forced labor, forced exercise & hardship of political prisoners 80 ○○○○○○ vi) Gender specific abuse ○○○○○○ CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS 81CONTENTS CONTENTS vii) Solitary confinement ○○○○○○○ 4 K U X I N G : T O R T U R E I N T I B E T 83 Accountability of perpetrators of torture 85 The absence of independent judiciary and due process 90 The consequences of torture 93 Conclusion 94 Recommendations 96 Profile of known Tibetan political prisoners died due to torture since 1987 141 List of known Tibetans who were shot dead or commit- ted suicide due to extreme torture 143 Notes Appendix 151 ○ ○○○○ i) List of known Prisons and Detention Centres in Tibet 156 ○ ○○○○ ii) PRC’s ratification of major international human rights laws 157 ○ ○○○○ iii) Known deaths as a result of torture from 19987-2004 164 ○ ○○○○ iv) Glossary of terms and abbreviations CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS CONTENTS ○○○○○○○ 5 Preface Torture is the grossest violation of fundamental human rights. It destroys the dignity of persons by degrading their bodies with injuries, which are sometimes irreparable and causing severe damage to minds and spirits. The horrific consequences of this terrible human rights violation spread to the family of the victims and into their social surroundings. Through these acts, the values and principles upon which democracy and human rights are based and any form of human dignity lose their significance. There is a universal consensus in the international community that torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment cannot be reconciled or tolerated in a global order that is fundamentally committed to basic human respect and dignity. Torture strikes at the essen- tial physical and psychological integrity of a human being. It is, therefore, not surprising that torture is prohibited under international, national and regional laws of different states. However, in an authoritarian state like China there exists an operational code that accepts and sometimes, advertently or inadvertently, supports the torturer. Impunity for the perpetrator is com- mon practice and torture goes unpunished. As torture is a conduct that cannot be officially condoned or sanctioned by law, it is also a conduct that is carried out clandestinely. Torture by its ne- cessity to be practiced in secret and then denied, challenges the very idea of law itself. Furthermore, the practice of torture and ill treatments, which deny transparency, accountability, and responsibility, often trigger enhanced levels of human rights violations such as disappearances, extra judicial kill- ings and genocide. The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrad- ing Treatment or Punishment (Convention Against Torture or UNCAT), adopted by the United Nations, signifies enormous progress against the use of torture by categorizing the practice of torture as an international crime and by creating the mechanisms to denounce it. However, despite efforts on the issue of prevention, progress has been limited at national and inter- ○○○○○○○ 6 K U X I N G : T O R T U R E I N T I B E T national level. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) signed the Conven- tion on 12 December 1986 and subsequently, ratified the Convention on 4 October 1988. On 5 October 1998, 10 years after ratification of CAT, the PRC signed the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) but has not yet announced a date for its’ ratification and hence, is not legally bound by its provisions. The PRC has now signed all the major United Nations laws relating to human rights, however, evidence and testimonies from recently released political prisoners and detainees highlight low commitment by the Chi- nese authorities in upholding its international legal commitments. In the PRC, the practice of torture and ill treatment continue to be reported in a wide variety of state institutions despite the introduction of several new regulations aimed at curbing the practice. The common methods of torture and ill-treatment included kicking, beating, suspension by the arms, elec- tric shock using cattle prod1, shackling in painful position, solitary confine- ment, and sleep and food deprivation for long periods of time. The national mechanisms together with the international mechanisms con- templated by the Protocol on torture, will help to prevent the practice of torture specifically in the places where it happens most frequently, namely places of detention. In all places where persons are deprived of their liberty, for whatever reason, there exists the potential risk of being subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The mechanisms that are to be created will prevent this risk from becoming a reality. This special report evaluates torture in China-occupied Tibet and the death of Tibetan political prisoners as a result of torture and ill treatment while in custody and after release from prison. The report also assesses the PRC’s compliance with the Convention Against Torture and other domestic legis- lation concerning torture. It also elucidates various torture methods em- ployed by the PRC on political prisoners and detainees in prisons, deten- tion centres and labour camps across Tibet. It further provides a detailed list of known deaths of Tibetan political prisoners while in custody and after release since 1987. ○○○○○○○ Introduction 7 chapter 1 Introduction The international community has recognized torture as one of the most brutal and unacceptable assaults on human dignity from which no region in the world has managed to free itself. The prohibition of torture, inhu- man and degrading treatment or punishment is expressly prohibited by countless international conventions and the Universal Declaration of Hu- man Rights. Regional law and international law doctrine have for several decades considered this prohibition to be part of international customary law which cannot be derogated in time of peace or war, or under the pretext of imminent danger to national security. Yet, despite this universal con- demnation, torture still persists around the world. For this very reason, during the 1970’s, while the Convention against Tor- ture was being negotiated among different countries at the UN, several international organizations put their efforts together to find new and more realistic ways to prevent the continued use of torture. Inspired by the re- sults of visits to prisons during times of war conducted by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Swiss philanthropist Mr. Jean- Jacques Gauttler sought to create a system of regular inspections of places of detention throughout the world. Following a lengthy and arduous nego- tiation process, such a system was finally established by the Optional Pro- tocol to the UN Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment which will be hereafter referred to as OPCAT or the Optional Protocol. ○○○○○○○ 8 K U X I N G : T O R T U R E I N T I B E T chapter 2 Definition and existing UN legal instrument on torture It should be noted that there are, in fact, two forms of torture. The first refers to the infliction of extreme pain and suffering by a victimizer who dominates and controls. The pain caused by the torture may have either physical or psychological elements or a combination of both. The second form of torture concerns more with restrictive legal definition that includes official state sanction and/or participation. The classical example of this version involves police or official security practices invoked for the purpose of obtaining a confession, or perhaps as a distinctive form of state-spon- sored terrorism and repression.2 Under international human rights law, the most widely recognized defini- tion of torture is contained in the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment of 1984 (herein- after Convention Against Torture). Article 1 of the Convention defines torture in the following way. “the term ‘torture’ means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is sus- pected of having committed or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering