PUBLIC AI Index: ASA 17/114/2008

19 December 2008

UA 347/08 Fear of torture and other ill-treatment

PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Nami Jhaba (m), aged 41, Tibetan

Tibetan former monk Nami Jhaba was detained by police on 19 April, and has been held incommunicado since then. Police recently returned some of his possessions to his family, and he is therefore believed to be in danger of torture and other ill-treatment.

On 7 December, police came to his sister's home in Daofu Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, and gave her some of his personal belongings, among them a religious amulet. In Tibetan culture, relinquishing this amulet means the owner is no longer in control of his physical body and could signify that Nami is being tortured or is otherwise in a critical condition. The police told her that they were waiting for a decision from the central government on her brother's case. According to local sources, Nami had been detained on suspicion of "leaking state secrets" and held first in Kangding Prefecture, then moved to Chengdu, Sichuan Province, and later sent back to Kangding Prefecture. It is unclear if he has had access to lawyers.

Nami Jhaba's detention was believed to be directly linked to his attempt to pass on to a foreign journalist video footage shot in March of hundreds of police shooting at and arresting monks from Langque Monastery and other Tibetans who had been protesting at the monastery. During an interview with a Radio Free Asia journalist on 9 April, he said he believed he was in danger of being detained by authorities.

Nami Jhaba was once a monk at Langque Monastery. He was arrested twice previously in connection with monks’ protests and the posting of anti-government slogans at the monastery.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

A wave of unrest spread across the Tibet Autonomous Region and surrounding Tibetan-populated areas in March and April 2008. More than 1,000 people were arbitrarily detained in a crackdown that followed.

The authorities charge people exercising their rights to freedom of expression and assembly with vaguely defined crimes such as "leaking state secrets," "subversion" and "endangering state security."

Amnesty International has documented the widespread use of torture and other ill-treatment in prisons and detention centres, including beating and use of electroshock batons. China ratified the UN Convention Against Torture in 1988, and has its own laws seeking to eliminate the practice, but torture and other ill-treatment in custody remains widespread. In November 2008, the UN Committee Against Torture raised concern about reports of abuses in custody, including high numbers of deaths, possibly related to torture or other ill-treatment, and about the lack of investigation into these abuses.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly as possible, in English, Mandarin or your own language:

- calling on the authorities to release Nami Jhaba immediately and unconditionally, unless he is charged with an internationally recognisable criminal offence;

- urging the authorities to ensure that Nami Jhaba is not tortured;

- asking them where Nami Jhaba is held;

- urging them to ensure Nami Jhaba has access to his family, legal assistance of his choice and any medical treatment he may require.

APPEALS TO:

Chairman of the Tibet Autonomous Regional People's Government

Qiangba PUNCOG Zhuren

Xizang Zizhiqu Renmin Zhengfu

1 Kang'angdonglu

Lasashi 850000

Xizang Zizhiqu, People's Republic of China

Salutation: Dear Chairman

Prime Minister of the People's Republic of China

WEN Jiabao Guojia Zongli

The State Council General Office

2 Fuyoujie

Xichengqu

Beijingshi 100017

People's Republic of China

Fax: +86 10 65961109 (c/o Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Salutation: Your Excellency

Minister of Public Security of the People's Republic of China

MENG Jianzhu Buzhang

Gong’anbu

14 Dongchang’anjie

Dongchengqu

Beijingshi 100741

People's Republic of China

Fax: +86 10 63099216 (it may be difficult to get through, please keep trying)

Salutation: Your Excellency

COPIES TO:

Secretary of the Tibet Autonomous Regional Party Committee

ZHANG Qingli Shuji

Zhonggong Xizang Zizhiqu Weiyuanhui

Lasashi, Xizang Zizhiqu, People's Republic of China

and to diplomatic representatives of the People's Republic of China accredited to your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 29 January 2009.