By Choekyi Lhamo
DHARAMSHALA, Feb. 1: The Tibetan community in France held a demonstration outside the Chinese embassy in Paris on Saturday to protest the death of a Tibetan monk, Tenzin Nyima, 19, who succumbed to injuries sustained in Chinese prison. The protest was organized by the Students for a Free Tibet and the Tibetan community in Paris.
The demonstrators carried Tibetan flags, placards and raised slogans against the Chinese government. The protestors urged the Chinese government to stop the arbitrary abuse and torture of political prisoners. The China Director at Human Rights Watch, Sophie Richardson said, “Chinese authorities have once again turned arbitrary detention into a death sentence. They should hold to account all those responsible for the brutal killing of the Tibetan monk Tenzin Nyima.”
The young monk died on Jan. 19, 2021 after he was released from Sichan’s Kardze prefecture in comatose state. Nyima was detained on Nov. 9, 2019, two days after four Tibetan monks in Dza Wonpo monastery distributed leaflets and raised slogans calling for Tibetan independence outside the government office.
In October 2020, Nyima was admitted to a hospital in the provincial capital, Chengdu. The hospital record obtained by HRW indicated that he had been in critical condition for 10 days before he was released due to injuries. His family succeeded in admitting him to a hospital in Dartsedo where he was subsequently discharged, citing that his condition was terminal.
Chinese authorities detained about 30 residents from Wonpo including both monastics and lay people after the protests that took place in November 2019. Seven of those were held in detention and eventually brought to trial. Kunsal aged 20, Choegyal and Yonten were sentenced four years. Sotra was sentenced to three years in prison and Tsultrim, aged 16, was sentenced for one year in prison. All of them were found guilty of “inciting separatism”. Another Tibetan monk, Nyimay, who leaked the information to social media sites was also found guilty of inciting separatism and received the longest sentence – five years in prison.
