Torture in Tibet Tibet Watch submission to the Committee Against Torture February 2015 Torture in Tibet Submission to the United Nations Committee Against Torture in advance of the adoption of a List of Issues for the People’s Republic of China at the 54th Session February 2015 supported by Gu-Chu-Sum and Free Tibet Tibet Watch works to promote the human rights of the Tibetan people through monitoring, research and advocacy. We are a UK registered charity (no. 1114404) with an office in London and a field office in Dharamsala, India. We believe in the power of bearing witness, the power of truth. www.tibetwatch.org Contents Introduction ......................................................................................................................................... 1 Contributing organisations .................................................................................................................. 2 Background .......................................................................................................................................... 3 Torture Survivor Testimonies ............................................................................................................... 9 Golog Jigme ...................................................................................................................................... 9 Tenzin Namgyal .............................................................................................................................. 15 Kelsang Tsundue ............................................................................................................................ 19 Deaths in Custody .............................................................................................................................. 22 Deaths Resulting from Torture .......................................................................................................... 25 Prisoners of Concern .......................................................................................................................... 27 Universal Jurisdiction ......................................................................................................................... 31 List of Issues - Recommendations ...................................................................................................... 32 Torture in Tibet – CAT Submission | Tibet Watch 2015 Introduction This report has been produced by Tibet Watch, with support from Gu-Chu-Sum and Free Tibet, in response to China’s fifth periodic report to the United Nations Committee Against Torture (the Committee) regarding China’s implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Convention). China’s report outlines a broad range of legal measures which have been put in place to prevent the use of torture. However, Tibet Watch has been monitoring human rights abuse in Tibet since 2006 and has not noticed any improvements whatsoever in practice. Regardless of what might be stated in law or policy, the reality for Tibetans is still widespread brutality and routine use of torture. China was last reviewed by the Committee in 2008, just after the Beijing Olympics Games. The award of the Olympic Games to Beijing was accompanied by numerous promises from both the Chinese government and the International Olympic Committee that the Games would generate greater openness and respect for human rights across China. In reality, security was tightened in many areas, especially Tibet, and 2008 was also the year of a mass Tibetan uprising. This was violently suppressed and previous reports from Tibet Watch and Free Tibet detailed a number of the protest incidents - this included eye-witness reports of security forces opening fire on unarmed civilians, lists of people who were arrested and believed to be at risk of torture and some specific examples of torture. For ease of reference, a brief summary of the situation in 2008 is included within the background information. The substance of this current report focuses on the sustained repression which has been in effect since the 2008 uprising. Tibet Watch has documented a number of deaths in custody; deaths occurring after release but resulting from torture; and deaths which have resulted from the disproportionate use of force, including gunfire, by Chinese security forces against unarmed Tibetan civilians. A significant number of people were arrested in connection with the 2008 uprising and many more have since been arrested for opposing China’s repressive policies in Tibet. Most of those people are either still in prison or under surveillance. Fortunately, some former political prisoners do manage to make the journey into exile following their release. Tibet Watch and Gu-Chu-Sum have carried out interviews with political prisoners in exile and this report includes three testimonies which provide clear evidence of the conditions in Chinese prisons and the continued use of torture against Tibetan political prisoners. This report also provides details of a number of Tibetans who are currently in detention, some incommunicado, and at risk of torture. It is the hope of all the organisations party to this report that the Commission will be able to obtain information confirming the condition and whereabouts of these prisoners, as well as the charges against them, and also recommend that they receive any necessary medical treatment and visits from their family. Furthermore, this report provides outline details of the case lodged in Spain against former Chinese leaders on charges which included torture, genocide and crimes against humanity. On the basis that we believe China’s behaviour to be incompatible with the aims of the Convention, the contributing organisations request the Committee to look into China's role in instigating potentially unconstitutional changes in Spanish law which led to the case being discontinued and also interfered with the implementation of international law relating to torture. Finally, this report lists a number of issues which the contributing organisations hope to see included in the List of Issues which the Committee adopts at the forthcoming session. -1- Torture in Tibet – CAT Submission | Tibet Watch 2015 Contributing organisations Tibet Watch Tibet Watch works to promote the human rights of the Tibetan people through human rights monitoring, research and advocacy. We are a UK registered charity, established in 2006, with an office in London, UK, and a field team based in Dharamsala, India. The majority of our staff are Tibetan, with first-hand experience of the occupation. We document and expose the ongoing human rights abuses in Tibet using a wide range of sources, although our information is primarily based on interviews and witness testimony. We believe that accuracy is vital in our work and all of the information we record is carefully verified and corroborated before being published. We also carry out thematic research and collaborate with academic and NGO partners as appropriate. We have previously provided evidence to the Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Committee Against Torture and engaged in the Universal Periodic Review process. We also provide regular briefings to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Gu-Chu-Sum Movement of Tibet The Gu-Chu-Sum Movement of Tibet was formed in 1991 by a group of 33 former political prisoners who had escaped into exile in India. Based in Dharamsala, in the north Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, Gu-Chu-Sum is registered with the Indian government and also recognise by the Central Tibetan Administration (Tibetan government-in-exile). The organisation has over 500 members worldwide. Gu-Chu-Sum provides housing, employment, medical care, education, job training and economic assistance to ex-political prisoners who have journeyed into exile. The organization aims to help ex-political prisoners become self-sufficient. Gu-Chu-Sum also works to increase awareness of repression in Tibet and calls for the Chinese government to respect basic human rights in Tibet. Gu-Chu-Sum publishes a bi-monthly newsletter and a yearly magazine called ‘Tibetan Envoy’ in both English and Tibetan. Free Tibet Free Tibet was established in 1987 and is an NGO based in London, UK. Free Tibet works closely with Tibet Watch and has previously contributed to joint reports to UN committees. “Our vision is a free Tibet in which Tibetans are able to determine their own future and the human rights of all are respected. Free Tibet campaigns for an end to China's occupation of Tibet and for international recognition of Tibetans' right to freedom. We mobilise active support for the Tibetan cause, champion human rights and challenge those whose actions help sustain the occupation.” -2- Torture in Tibet – CAT Submission | Tibet Watch 2015 Background The Beijing Olympics and human rights in Tibet On 13 July 2001, the Chinese government was triumphant when Beijing won the right to host the 2008 Olympic Games. But the selection of Beijing was controversial, especially in light of China’s human rights record both within China itself and in Tibet, which China has occupied since 1950. Upon being awarded the 2008 Olympics, the Chinese government swiftly made a number of promises regarding the promotion of human rights across China for the seven years leading up to the Beijing Olympics, as well as promising freedom of movement and access for the thousands of journalists who would be in China covering the