Serious allegations against China: Systematical breaches of the Convention against Torture – at least 114 Tibetans died in custody since March 2008

On Thursday, after a Tibetan monk had died in police custody, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) accused the People's Republic of China of violating the Convention against Torture systematically. "Our human rights organization knows the names of at least 114 political prisoners in Tibet who died either in prison or in consequence of being tortured in custody since March 2008," reported the STP's Asia-consultant, Ulrich Delius.

The most recent occurrence was in late May, 2012: The 32-year-old monk Khawang died from injuries inflicted during custody only three days after being arrested. His death only just became known after relatives had repeatedly urged the authorities to reveal the detainee's whereabouts. The late monk came from a family of nomads. He was arrested in the Tibetan prefecture Kardze (Sichuan province) on May 25, 2012. Khawang was accused of having attached a banner to a government building, demanding independence for Tibet. The Tibetan denied his complicity. Eye witnesses reported that he was beaten up and tortured.

"Torture takes place in police custody and in prisons every day, although China ratified the Convention against Torture on October 4, 1988," criticized Delius. Most prisoners are tortured to extract confessions, although the Chinese government had publicly declared on May 31, 2010, that confessions extracted under constraint may no longer be considered in court proceedings.

According to the STP, it is common practice in China to release seriously ill prisoners who were tortured – to prevent them from dying in custody. For instance, the Buddhist monk Geshi Tsultrim Gyatso was released in December 2011 for medical reasons and immediately admitted to a hospital. On January 22, 2012, the 51-year-old Tibetan died from the after-effects of the torture he endured during his six months in jail. Later, a police officer denied any responsibility for monk's death: "We are not responsible for the death of a prisoner outside the prison."

On September 7, 2011, the monk Tenzin Yeshe also died from the consequences of being tortured while under arrest. He had been imprisoned for ten years – but was released only ten months before his death. The same thing happened to the monk Jampa Pelsang, who died on May 23, 2011. He was released only 17 days before – after being imprisoned for 15 years. In May 2011, the authorities also confirmed the death of the monk Tsering Gyaltsen , who had been arrested during a demonstration on February 9, 2011.