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Urgent campaigns / Urgent Interventions / China / 2011 / October

China: Fear for the safety of monk Geshe Tsultrim Gyatso whose whereabouts are unknown since his arrest

​CHN 281011

Whereabouts unknown/ Risk of torture and ill-treatment

The International Secretariat of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in the People’s Republic of China.

Brief description of the situation

TheInternational Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), a member of OMCT SOS-Torture Network, about the arrest and disappearance of a monk of the Dhitsa Monastery in Gonghuo County, Tsolo Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (TAP), namely the 40-years-old monk Geshe Tsultrim Gyatso. He was arrested by members of the Qinghai National Security police in Trika County, Quinghai Province. OMCT fears that he may be at risk of torture and ill-treatment.

According to the information received, Geshe Tsultrim Gyatso, originally from Gonghuo County, Changshey Township, Tsolo Tap, Qinghai Province, was arrested on 14 October 2011 in the Tongchey National School, Trinka county in Quinghai Province. He was arrested by the police at the school where he gave a talk. The charges against him and his current whereabouts remain unclear. No arrest warrant was issued and his family has not been informed about his whereabouts. According to the source he could possibly be kept in Siling/Xining, a city in Qinghai.

Geshe Tsultrim Gyatso studied and earned his “Geshe” degree at the Dhitsa Monastery. He is the Vice Chairman of “Tsong-kha Kiri Charitable Foundation” that provides care and support to aged people and pays school fees for those children whose families cannot afford it. Furthermore, he is the Vice President of the monastery’s Democratic Management Committee (DMC)[1].

Concerning the Dhitsa Monastery, in March 2010, the police arrested one Trulku (reincarnated Lama) and two monks from the aforementioned Monastery based on suspicions of their involvement in the dissemination of political pamphlets in and around the Monastery. According to the information received Geshe Tsultrim Gyatso had no involvement in political acts. But he is a well-known intellectual in the area and has emphasized on the conservation of Tibetan tradition and language and already many times he has been invited to lecture at various schools and institutions.

The International Secretariat of OMCT is gravely concerned about the safety of monk Geshe Tsultrim Gyatso, as his whereabouts and fate remains unknown.OMCT fears that hey may be subjected to torture or other ill-treatment. OMCT urges the competent authorities to guarantee their physical and psychological integrity at all times, in accordance with international human rights law, in particular the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and to immediately locate and disclose his whereabouts. Enforced disappearance and torture and other ill-treatment constitute serious human rights violations and are strictly prohibited under international law.

Actions Requested

Please write to the authorities in the People’s Republic of China urging them to:

i.                     Immediately locate and disclose the whereabouts of monk Geshe Tsultrim Gyatso;

ii.                   Guarantee, in all circumstances, his physical and psychological integrity; 

iii.                  Grant him immediate and full access to a lawyer of his choice and his family, as well as guarantee that he is examined by independent doctors and receives adequate medical care if necessary, in accordance, inter alia, with the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners;

iv.                 Order his immediate release in the absence of valid legal charges that are consistent with international law and standards, or, if such charges exist, bring him before an impartial, independent and competent tribunal and guarantee his procedural rights at all times;

v.                   Guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.

Addresses

·      Mr. Wen Jiabao, Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of China, 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)

·      Mr. Wu Aiying, Minister of Justice of the People’s Republic of China, Buzhang Sifabu, 10 Chaoyangmen Nandajie, Chaoyangqu, Beijingshi 100020, People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 6529 2345, minister@legalinfo.gov.cn / pfmaster@legalinfo.gov.cn

·      Mr. Meng Jianzhu, Minister of Public Security of the People’s Republic of China, Buzhang, Gong’anbu, 14 Dongchang’anjie, Dongchengqu, Beijingshi 100741, People’s Republic of China, Fax: +86 10 63099216

  • Director of the Sichuan Provincial Department of Justice, Sifating, 24 Shangxiznglu, Chengdushi 610015, Sichuansheng, People's Republic of China

·      Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China, Ch. De Surville, CP 85, 1213 Petit-Lancy 2, Suisse, e-mail: mission.china@ties.itu.int, Fax : +41 22 793 70 14

Please also write to the embassies of the People’s Republic of China in your respective country.

***

Geneva, 28 October 2011

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.



[1] Members of the DMC are nuns and monks who administer a monastery or a nunnery and who have to implement the government’s regulations on religion. 

Properties

Date: October 28, 2011
Activity: Urgent campaigns
Type: Urgent Interventions
Country: China
Subjects: Arbitrary arrests and enforced disappearances

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