three monks were killed and several others injured. Two people in the crowd, including a boy aged about eight were also shot and killed. Amnesty International considers that the authorities should investigate fully the circumstances in which these killings took place, to establish whether or not police officers used lethal force against unarmed civilians who were not jeopardizing the lives of others, as such use of firearms by police, even in the context of a riot, would go well beyond what might be considered reasonable use of force. 6. Amnesty International concerns Since September Amnesty International has communicated its concern on several occasions to the Chinese government over the widespread arrests carried out during the protests in Lasa and related issues of concern to the organization. In January 1988, it addressed a memorandum to the government, describing in detail its concerns over these issues and urging the government to implement the following measures: to publish the names of all those currently detained and the charges against them; to release promptly all those arrested for the non-violent exercise of fundamental human rights, such as those who participated in peaceful demonstrations or who are being held because of their opinions or beliefs; to bring promptly to fair trial all those detained on criminal charges, granting detainees the right to communicate with their lawyers and family before trial. Any such trials should be open to attendance by defendants' families, lawyers and international observers; to set up an impartial inquiry into allegations of ill-treatment of detainees by police during their arrest and detention. The procedures and findings of such an inquiry should be made public; to investigate the circumstances in which police allegedly used unreasonable force by shooting at civilians on 1 October, and to adopt measures to ensure that strict limitations are placed on the use of firearms in accordance with international standards. PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA: TORTURE AND ILL-TREATMENT IN DETENTION OF TIBETANS (By Amnesty International-February 1989) Amnesty International began to receive allegations of torture and ill- treatment of detainees in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) soon after the widespread arrests which followed proindependence demonstrations by Tibetans monks in the capital Lasa in late September and early October 1987. Since then, particularly after the 5 March 1988 violent demonstration at the climax of the Mon Lam prayer festival in Lasa, the organization has received further detailed reports indicating persistent abuse of detainees. Many detainees released in the past few months have stated that they faced various forms of torture and ill-treatment in detention, including severe beatings, shocks with electric batons and prolonged suspension by the arms. The attached paper includes some of their testimonies. On several occasions since October 1987, Amnesty International has appealed to the Chinese Government to investigate reports about human rights violations in the TAR, so far without response. Amnesty International is again calling on the Chinese Government to conduct an impartial enquiry into allegations of torture and ill-treatment, and to provide conditions in which all detainees and ex-detainees and their relatives and other witnesses can testify about their treatment in detention without risking retaliation. It is also calling on the government to do all it can to ensure all present detainees are humanely treated. This summarizes a nine-page document, People's-Republic of China: Torture and Ill-treatment in Detention of Tibetans, Al Index: ASA 17/04/89, issued by Amnesty International in February 1989. Anyone wanting further details or to take action on this issue should consult the full document. Al Index: ASA 17/04/89 1. Introduction Amnesty International began to receive allegations of torture and ill-treatment of detainees in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TĂR) soon after the widespread arrests which followed proindependence demonstrations by Tibetans monks in the capital Lasa in late September and early October 1987. Since then, particularly after the 5 March 1988 violent demonstration at the climax of the Mon Lam prayer festival in Lasa, Amnesty International has received more detailed reports indicating persistent abuses of detainees. Several hundred people are reported to have been arrested in Lasa during and after the 5 March demonstration. Most were detained for several months without charge or trial, being held incommunicado with no access to family or legal representation. Though a significant number of detainees were released in July 1988, arrests of demonstrators or people suspected of involvement in proindependence activities have continued throughout the second half of 1988. By December 1988, over 100 people were reported to be still detained, most of them without charge. In connection with pro independence demonstrations. New arrests were reported to have been carried out in December, following a demonstration in Lasa on 10 December to mark Human Rights Day, during which police reportedly shot without warning peaceful demonstrators, killing at least two and, according to some sources, as many as 18 demonstrators and bystanders The total number of those detained during the second half of December is not yet known, but at least 19 of the 10 December demonstrators are reported to have been arrested and taken to Gutsa prison. Six of them were nuns and the rest were young Tibetan monks and students. Other arrests are also reported to have' been carried out during December and in early 1989. As most prisoners are held in incommunicado detention until their release, accounts of conditions in prison and reports of torture and ill-treatment come in the main from ex-prisoners. Amnesty International has received first hand testimony from detainees released in the past few months who either remain in the TAR or who have fled to India and Nepal after being released from detention. Most of them have requested that their names not be used publicly for fear that reprisals may be taken against their relatives. Ill-treatment of detainees is reported to have occurred in various places of detention, not only in Lasa but also in other areas of the TAR. However, torture and illtreatment appear to have been particularly frequent at Gutsa, a detention center in the north-east of Lasa commonly referred to as "Gutsa Prison," where many of those detained after the 5 March violent demonstration were held for several months without charge or trial. Several prison officers at Gutsa alleged to have been involved in torturing or ill-treating detainees are named in the reports received by Amnesty International. Amnesty International has communicated their names to the Chinese Government. 2. Amnesty International's concerns On several occasions since October 1987 Amnesty International has appealed to the Government of the People's Republic of China to investigate reports about human rights violations in the TAR, to set up a public enquiry into allegations of torture and to take all appropriate measures to ensure that detainees are humanely treated. The Government has not responded and to Amnesty International's knowledge no public enquiry has been carried out. In telexes to Prime Minister Li Peng on 5 and 19 May 1988 the torture and ill-treatment of detainees were specifically raised. The second telex referred to the case of a truck driver from Lasa, Tenzin Sherap, who was arrested after the 5 March riot and taken to a prison in the vicinity of Lasa. It is reported that his relatives were asked to come to one of the Lasa municipal morgues to collect his body around 23 March. His face is said to have been badly battered, with one eye hanging out of its socket. A person who later assisted with the funeral rites found most of his bones had been broken. Amnesty International has since received a photograph of the truck driver's body, showing signs of serious injuries, which was reportedly taken in a Lasa hospital morgue. He is assumed to have been tortured to death. To Amnesty International's knowledge, the circumstances of his death have not been investigated. In October 1988 China ratified the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which subsequently entered into force for China on 3 November 1988. Ms Gao Yanping, a member of the Chinese delegation at the United Nations, stated there on 14 November 1988 that "China will implement in good faith its obligations undertaken in the Convention." She cited the legal prohibitions of torture in China and various measures taken by the Government to prevent the occurrence of torture. However, she said, "as a vast country with a large population, China still has much to do with regard to the prohibition of torture and other inhumane treatment or punishment." Indeed, the occurrence of torture in various parts of the country has been_acknowledged by Chinese official sources in recent years (see Al report: "China-Torture and ill-treatment of prisoners," September 1987, ASA 17/07/87). During 1988, several cases of police officials prosecuted for acts of torture were reported in the Chinese official media. In July 1988, for instance, six police officers were reported to have been brought to trial in Henan province, central China, for torturing to death a crime suspect with electric batons, shovel handles and metal bars. However, the occurrence of torture in Tibet has been denied by Chinese Government officials on several occasions. In August 1988, during the visit to Lasa of a United States' Senate delegation, the Vice-Chairman of the TAR Government, Mao Rubai, was reported to have "denied allegations that prisoners had been tortured with electric cattle prods or by being suspended by ropes from the ceiling" (Washington Post, 26 August 1988). In two letters addressed to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, in July and November 1988, the Chinese Government denied that Tibetan detainees had been ill-treated. The second letter stated that "careful investigation had been undertaken in regard to the accusations [of torture]. It was verified that all those detained had been treated strictly in accordance with the law, and no cases of torture and ill-treatment had been found." Such official denials contrast with the information made available to Amnesty International in recent months, which indicate that the practice of torture and illtreatment is widespread and persistent. Amnesty International is again calling on the Chinese Government to establish an impartial enquiry into allegations of torture and ill-treatment, and to provide such conditions as to ensure that all detainees and ex-detainees who might testify about their treatment in detention, as well as their relatives and other witnesses, may do so without fear of possible retaliation as a result of their testimony. It is also calling on the Government to take all appropriate measures to ensure that all current detainees are humanely treated. 3. Methods of torture Testimony from former detainees indicates that beating of prisoners has routinely followed arrest. It has usually taken place during interrogation, but some ex-detainees have stated that beating was also randomly inflicted by guards. During interrogation, pressure was put on prisoners to make confessional statements, to denounce other "activists" or those alleged to have taken part in demonstrations. Assault with electric batons, ordinarily employed by the Public Security Bureau (police) or armed police in crowd control, is a widely reported method of abuse. Former detainees have said that electric batons were usually applied to the torso during interrogation and that repeated use on occasions resulted in loss of consciousness. Some ex-detainees have testified that electric batons have been pushed into their mouths, causing severe swelling of the tongue. One monk detained in Sangyip prison reported that chilli powder was sometimes poured over the injured mouth. Others have stated that electric batons have been used on the soles of their feet. A few nuns have spoken of sexual abuse-batons inserted into the vagina- as a result of which at least one is reported to have needed hospital treatment. In one report, two nuns in Gutsa prison are said to have had first rubber balls and then electric batons forced into their vaginas. No instance of rape by guards has been reported to Amnesty International. There have also been reports of prisoners beaten with wooden truncheons and iron bars. Some wooden clubs have been described as having filed-down nails protruding from the end which tore the flesh when the victim was struck. Participants in the 5 March demonstration have indicated that such unorthodox weaponry was used that day by armed police against demonstrators, but former detainees have also reported the use of iron bars and wooden clubs in prison. One non-Tibetan who interviewed monks in Lasa in June and July 1988 was shown scars on the napes of their necks and the backs and sides of their heads. These reportedly resulted from being beaten with a nail-studded wooden club. Each scar was about one and a half centimeters in diameter. The wounds were not yet fully healed despite the fact that they had been inflicted during March. Prisoners beaten during interrogation were often handcuffed, sometimes with legs shackled. There have been many reports of both male and female detainees being stripped naked before questioning-a practice which seemed designed to humilate the prisoner. Prisoners have also been forced to stand for prolonged periods (sometimes in excess of 24 hours), often on tiptoe with fingertips against the wall and legs splayed. Suspension from the ceiling by the "hanging airplane" method, which became common in China during the Cultural Revolution, has been referred to by many Tibetans and appears to be a frequently used method of ill-treatment. Loss of consciousness is often reported, and the strain placed on the wrists and shoulders by suspension of the prisoner's body can result in dislocation of the joints. A description of this practice by a former detainee who was subjected to it is given below. Prisoners were also hung from the ceiling by handcuffed or bound wrists, or suspended upside down by the feet, and then beaten. Several detainees who were not themselves subjected to this treatment have said that they were shown other prisoners suspended by the arms at Gutsa prison. This was intended as a warning of what may happen to them if they did not confess or cooperate with their interrogators. Burning with lighted cigarettes; assaults by guards wielding chairs or anything in the room they could lay their hands on; being forced to lie face down in a "gutter" while being stamped on and beaten; being set upon by guard dogs and having pistols pointed at the head under threat of death, are other methods of torture reported by former detainees. Detainees have reported that they were prohibited from talking to each other and beaten if found talking; food was grossly insufficient (in average five small plain dumplings and one or two portions of vegetables a day); medical care was minimal and only those critically ill could see a doctor or go to the hospital. 4. Torture testimonies Some of the reports of torture received by Amnesty International are summarized below. While Amnesty International is not in a position to verify the specific allegations made in these reports, the testimonies from detainees who were held in the same prison are generally consistent with each other. In several cases, the same accounts of the ill-treatment suffered by certain detainees were given by several sources. These reports generally indicate that those detainees who were suspected of being the instigators of demonstrations, or of having been involved in acts of violence or destruction of property during demonstrations were the most severely tortured. 4.1 J, a 29-year-old Tibetan now exiled in India, was arrested by People's Liberation Army (PLA) soldiers near Tingri in the southern TAR at the end of October 1987. Attempting to escape from Tibet to India, he was arrested because he was not in possession of valid travel documents. He was subsequently held for several weeks in a small prison outside Tingri on suspicion of having taken part in the 1 October demonstration in Lasa. J says that he was kept naked and handcuffed in his cell for prolonged periods, during which he was abused physically and verbally. On occasions drunken guards would come into his cell and beat him. One night his head was repeatedly struck against the wall until his nose bled, although he remained conscious. He also describes being used as a target for martial arts' practice by guards "smelling of alco hol." (Other former prisoners have given similar descriptions of injuries sustained after martial arts' blows from guards' fists and feet.) In between periods of interrogation to establish that he had taken part in the 1 October protest, he was sometimes left alone for days without food or bedding in a bitterly cold cell. On the fifth day of detention J was woken after dawn and taken to an interrogation center outside the prison compound. He was first pinned to the ground by two guards while a third, having knelt on his head, then took it in both hands and repeatedly banged his left temple against the ground for some 10 minutes. He then describes how he was subjected to the socalled "hanging airplane" method of torture referred to earlier: "I was picked up from the ground and [as I stood in the center of the room] two soldiers began to bind a [nylon] rope around my arms. This long rope has a metal ring in the middle which was positioned behind my neck. Both ends were then passed in front of my shoulders and wound [in a spiral] tightly around my arms, finally trapping my fingers. One soldier then drew the two rope ends back through the metal ring, forcing my arms up between the shoulder blades. Holding onto the rope he kneed me hard in the small of the back, which caused a sharp pain in the chest. The rope was then passed over a hook in the ceiling and pulled downwards so that I was suspended with my toes just touching the ground. I quickly lost consciousness. I don't know how long I blacked out for, but I woke up`back in my cell naked except for handcuffs and shackles around my ankles." Four days later J was again led naked from his cell, handcuffed but without leg shackles, outside the prison compound. He was not brought to the interrogation room, but was bound to a tree. "One soldier took a thick piece of rope and tied me to a tree. The rope was wound around my body from the neck down to the knees. The soldier then [stood behind the tree] and put his foot against it pulling the rope tight. Chinese soldiers were sitting around the tree having lunch. One stood up and threw the remains of his bowl of vegetables and chillies in my face. The chillies burned my eyes and I still suffer a little. I was untied and taken back to my cell, but I stumbled often as I still found it difficult to walk and I was beaten every time I fell." 4.2 According to information received by Amnesty International in late May 1988, Shungdi, a small trader from Lasa arrested in March or April 1988 at the TibetanNepalese border, was severely tortured in prison. After his arrest Shungdi was taken to Gutsa prison in the capital, where he was accused of having set fire to a Chinese store in Lasa on 5 March. He is reported to have been kept shackled hand and foot for long periods and to have been so severely beaten that his face was badly disfigured. A further report reaching Amnesty International in October 1988 stated that Shungdi had also been tortured by being hanged upside down with his fingertips almost touching the ground, systematically beaten on his vertebrae and kicked in the lower back. His present condition and whereabouts are not known. 4.3 Tsering Dorjee, an oil trader from North Lasa Food Store arrested in connection with the 5 March demonstration, is alleged to have been severely tortured while held in Gutsa prison. According to former detainees, he was continually interrogated and tortured for 14 days and nights, being deprived of sleep. kept in a standing position, given shocks from electric batons and hit with "logs." He is also reported to have been suspended from the ceiling for 48 hours and: while hanging, to have been punched and given martial arts' blows by two prison officers. Tsering Dorjee is said to have been held with his hands and feet shackled for about three months at the prison. According to an official New China News Agency (NCNA) report of 19 January 1989, a man named Tsering Dorjee was sentenced to "less than" three years' imprisonment for "destroying property" at a trial in Lasa on 19 January. The NCNA report gave no further detail about him and it is not clear whether this is the same person as the man reported to have been tortured. 4.4 According to former detainees similar methods of interrogation and ill- treatment as those used in the case of Tsering Dorjee were applied to other prisoners, including Lobsang Tenzin, a student from the TAR University in Lasa, Tsering Thondup, a student (monk) at Nechung Buddhist College, Sonam Wangdu, a businessman from Lasa, Gyaltsen Choephel, a small trader in Lasa, as well as three monks and a teenager aged 16. They are reported to have been severely beaten, shocked with electric batons and, in some cases, suspended by the arms. The four named above were arrested in April 1988 and charged with killing a Chinese policeman-during the 5 March violent demonstration in Lasa. Two of them were officially reported to have been sentenced in January 1989. Their sentences were announced at a "public trial" attended by 5,000 people in Lasa on 19 January. Lobsang Tensin received the death sentence with suspension of execution for two years and Sonam Wangdu was sentenced to life imprisonment. 4.5 A young Khampa (a man from Kham-formerly eastern Tibet) is alleged to have died on 10 May 1988 as a result of torture and ill-treatment inflicted at Gutsa prison. According to a former detainee, he was very badly beaten and not given proper medical treatment. "The food was poor and he had dysentery," the witness said. "They [the prison officers] kept beating him. He got worse and worse. He could not eat. He was taken to the small prison hospital but they could do nothing for him. So he was taken to the big hospital in Lasa. One of the prison officials told me that he died there. There was a young businessman from Chamdo in the hospital room where the Khampa died. The Khampa was about 25 years old and came from Kanze. He had come to Lasa as a pilgrim for the Great Prayer Festival" (the 5 March riot took place during this festival). 4.6 * * A man arrested on 6 March 1988 in Lasa and detained without charge for several months at Gutsa prison, reported that he and other prisoners in his cell were beaten whenever they were called for questioning. "They beat us with whatever was at their disposal, including wash basins and mugs. They kicked us in the head, face, eyes, groin and legs * Electric batons were the main instruments used for torturing * Seven monks from Chormoling were severely beaten. They were made to lie down in a small water channel (gutter) and then the guards stamped all over their bodies. Their faces and bodies became so swollen due to the beatings that they could not take their clothes off * * * Some prisoners were made to inhale the smoke |