Urgent Action: CHINA CONDEMNS TIBETANS TO DEATH
On April 8 Chinese courts sentenced two Tibetans to death after
finding them guilty of starting fatal fires in the Lhasa riot in March
2008. Two others were given death sentences, each with a two-year
reprieve, and another received a life sentence.
Chinese state media reported that Lobsang Gyaltso was sentenced to
death for setting fire to two garment shops in downtown Lhasa on March
14 that killed a shop owner. Loyak [no surname] received the death
sentence for his role in the burning of a motorcycle shop in which five
peopled died. Tenzin Phuntsok and Kangtsuk [no surname] were given death
sentences with a two-year reprieve. Dawa Sangpo received given life
imprisonment.
Here is the story in China's state media outlet,
Xinhua.
These are the first known cases of death sentences meted out to
Tibetans after the March political unrest in Tibet in 2008.
Tibet Justice Center strongly condemns the trials and the outcomes.
China's courts conducted the trials in secret. There is no evidence that
the defendants were provided adequate legal counsel, and there has been
no publicizing of the evidence used to convict these Tibetans. If the
evidence had been adequate to convict these Tibetans, why conduct the
trials secret?
China's Supreme People's Court, which has final authority to overturn
these sentences, has a public-access comment page. We urge you to send a
strong message to the SPC regarding these unfair trials and to overturn
these unjust sentences. To do so, please go here.
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