Ngawang Sangdrol, one of Tibet’s most famous political prisoners, arrived in the United States today five months after her parole from Lhasa’s Drapchi prison. At age 26, Sangdrol had already served 11 years in prison. [more...]
Archive for July, 2006
Ngawang Sangdrol released
Saturday, July 15th, 2006Female political prisoners
Friday, July 14th, 2006By far the largest group of female political prisoners incarcerated by the Chinese government is in the Tibet Autonomous Region, where women make up about one third of the political prisoner population of Tibet. Almost all of them are nuns.
On October 11, 1989, Tibetans heard that their exiled spiritual and temporal leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, had been awarded the Nobel Peace prize. Three days later six nuns staged a peaceful demonstration in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, to mark the occasion, chanting independence slogans as they marched in procession. Within minutes they were arrested by the police and subsequently interrogated, tortured, tried, and imprisoned. The tape was circulated secretly in Tibet and is now available on CD in the West from the Free Tibet Campaign (www.freetibet.org) in England.
The songs paint a chilling picture of life in prison:
The food does not sustain body or soul
Beatings impossible to forget
This suffering inflicted upon us
May no others suffer like this.
But they also display their unbroken spirit, as one sings:
All of you outside who have done all you can for us in prison, we are deeply grateful to you and we will never forget you.
In 1995 Phuntsog Nyidron won the annual Reebok Human Rights Award for young people. In Reebok’s words, “She is a symbol of freedom of expression, an extraordinary woman who continues to non-violently advance the cause of human rights at the cost of her own personal freedom and safety.”
Phuntsog Nyidron Released
Friday, July 14th, 2006Group 30 welcomes the release of Tibetan nun Phuntsog Nyidron from prison in Tibet. Group 30 worked for her release for four years in the late ’90′s, generating hundreds of letters, petition signatures, and three letters from the U.S. Congress appealing for her release. Below is a press release from Amnesty International announcing her release.AI Index: ASA 17/010/2004 (Public)
News Service No: 046
27 February 2004China: Tibet’s longest-serving female prisoner of conscience finally released
Amnesty International today welcomed the release from prison on 24 February 2004 of Phuntsog Nyidron, Tibet’s longest-serving female political prisoner. However, the organization stressed that she should not have been imprisoned in the first place for her peaceful protests, and once again called upon the Chinese government to release all prisoners of conscience.
“Phuntsog Nyidron is one of several Tibetan prisoners of conscience in recent years to have been released before serving their full sentence,” Amnesty International emphasized. “This is extremely encouraging for all those who have campaigned on her behalf.”
Phuntsog Nyidron was due for release in March 2005. The formal reason for her early release remains unclear, but the Chinese authorities have reportedly said that it is a “humanitarian gesture”. China frequently releases high-profile prisoners in the run-up to important political and diplomatic occasions. It is thought that the timing of her release may be connected to the upcoming session of the UN Commission on Human Rights as well as the EU-China human rights dialogue which is currently taking place in Dublin.
“Of course her release is welcomed, but the cynical timing of her release as China’s human rights record comes under international scrutiny is indicative of China’s attitude towards prisoners of conscience,” Amnesty International said.
A nun from Phenpo County in Lhasa, Phuntsog Nyidron was severely beaten on several occasions during her imprisonment in Lhasa’s notorious Drapchi Prison, and serious concerns remain for her health. Ngawang Sangdrol, another nun imprisoned around the same time as Phuntsog Nyidron, was released in September 2002 on “medical parole” having suffered similar beatings and torture in Drapchi. Since her release, Ngawang Sangdrol has lobbied hard on behalf of Phuntsog Nyidron, helping to keep her case in the public eye.
“The Chinese government must accept responsibility for the health and welfare of prison inmates in the People’s Republic of China,” said Amnesty International. “It is simply astounding that torture and other forms of ill-treatment are still going on, and that the people responsible are not even investigated, let alone punished.”
Background
Phuntsog Nyidron was one of six nuns who staged a peaceful protest in central Lhasa in 1989 calling for Tibetan independence. She was initially sentenced to nine years at a secret trial, but in 1993 her sentence was increased by eight years on a charge of “spreading counter-revolutionary propaganda” from her cell, when she and 13 other nuns secretly recorded songs calling for Tibetan independence. Phuntsog Nyidron is last of these “singing nuns” to be released.
Phuntsog Nyidron was reportedly severely beaten in May 1998 when she refused to sing pro-China songs during a flag-raising ceremony in Drapchi. Several fellow prisoners reportedly died following beatings as a result of the protests at the flag-raising ceremony. Phuntsog Nyidron’s total sentence of 17 years was reduced by one year in 2002 for “showing signs of repentance”.
An estimated 145 Tibetan political prisoners are currently held in Chinese prisons, with around 70 held in Drapchi.
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Ngawang Sandrol Released
Friday, July 14th, 2006China Releases Defiant Tibetan Political Prisoner to U.S. – As a teenage nun, Ngawang Sangdrol became symbol of Tibetan resistance
Source: International Campaign for Tibet
March 28, 2003
Ngawang Sangdrol, one of Tibet’s most famous political prisoners, arrived in the United States today five months after her parole from Lhasa’s Drapchi prison. At age 26, Sangdrol had already served 11 years in prison.
 Ngawang Sangdrol holds up a picture of the Dalai Lama after arriving in Washington, D.C. Click image to enlarge (Photo: ICT). |
Ngawang Sangdrol’s reputation as a brave and determined activist grew as Chinese authorities increased her sentence on three separate occasions. Her final sentence of 21 years was the longest of any female political prisoner in Tibet.
Sangdrol was accompanied on United Airlines flight 850 from Beijing by a U.S. State Department official and released into the care of the International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) at National Airport in Washington, D.C. ICT will ensure that Sangdrol receives necessary medical attention and care.
Sangdrol walked off the plane by herself and was greeted by ICT staff members and representatives of the Capital Area Tibetan Association. She said she was very happy to be here but was feeling very tired and overwhelmed.
“This is an important release for the Tibet movement. It does not indicate that conditions in Tibet are improving: any Tibetan would be arrested today for what she did 11 years ago,” said Mary Beth Markey, Executive Director of ICT. “As a girl, Sangdrol was beaten and tortured, but her spirit and tenacity prevailed,” Markey said.
Ngawang Sangdrol’s release came after years of campaigning by Tibetan and human rights organizations and follows sustained efforts to secure her freedom by U.S., French and other governments. Assistant Secretary for Human Rights Lorne Craner recently returned from Beijing, where final details were apparently finalized. Lodi Gyari, the Special Envoy of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, specifically urged that she be allowed medical parole when he visited Lhasa and Beijing in September 2002.
The Dui Hua Foundation, directed by John Kamm, has been a key facilitator in arranging the logistical releases of political prisoners in China and Tibet, including Ngawang Sangdrol’s release, which conspicuously coincides with the annual meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva and occurs just weeks before U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney is scheduled to visit Beijing.
Sangdrol had been serving a 21-year sentence and was due for release on November 3, 2011. She was first detained for political activities at age 13 and was reportedly badly beaten during her nine-month detention. As a former political prisoner, she was barred from rejoining her nunnery after release. She was arrested again in 1992 at age 15 and sentenced to three years for attempting to demonstrate.
Ngawang Sangdrol with ICT staff and president of the Capital Area Tibetan Association, Mr. Namka Tenzin.
In 1993, Sangdrol and 13 other nuns tape-recorded songs about their love of Tibet and the cassette was smuggled out of prison. Upon discovery, their sentences were extended by six years and Sangdrol was again severely beaten. In 1996, her sentence was extended again for protests in prison. In 1998, she was given a third extension for prison protests, including a protest reportedly linked to the visit of a European Union ambassadorial delegation. In 2001, her sentence was reduced by 18 months for “showing genuine repentance and willingness to reform,” according to Chinese authorities.
Sangdrol is the fourth prominent Tibetan political prisoner to be released significantly early since 2001. Three other political prisoners were released in 2002, but only had two to nine months reduced from their sentences.