Bureau of the Dalai Lama in Delhi, important political prisoners have been secretly killed without trial since the imposition of martial law in March 1989. Before he left Lhasa in 1986, ex-policeman Thapkey Dorje (Bir, 11/1/88), accompanied prisoners while they were being paraded through town and to the execution site. He outlined the following scenario, the accuracy or applicability of which we have been unable to confirm: Prisoners to be executed get barley beer and good food, not the body. Several interviewees complained of lingering effects of torture However, they added, some prisoners were intentionally not released from prison until their wounds healed, so there would be no proof of mistreatment. MEDICAL CONSEQUENCES OF TORTURE Although we did not conduct physical examinations or laboratory tests, we could observe physical signs of torture in two of our interviewees. One monk had approximately 15 healed scars around the crown of his head which, he stated, were from Chinese police beating him with cattle prods and clubs with nails driven through the ends." Another had a laceration on his lip that had healed in a jagged scar. 103 Several interviewees complained of lingering effects of torture during the weeks and months following their release. They told us that many released prisoners had to recover from lacerations, deep bruises and loss of sensation in certain areas of the body as a result of being tied or manacled. However, they added, some prisoners were intentionally not released from prison until their wounds healed, so there would be no proof of mistreatment. Sonam Tsering (Dharamsala, 11/25/88) told us about Gutsa prison in the winter of 1988 when some of the prisoners sustained "damage to their kidneys," "brain damage," and "broken bones." We were also told that a monk known as Dawa from Rato Monastery went "crazy" under torture. Nevertheless, we were unable to evaluate these 103 Kelsang Wangyal (Dharamsala, 12/1/88) the 22 year-old monk from the Jokhang Temple, showed us 15 cm X 3 cm healed scars on the crown of his head. This is his account of what happened when Chinese police stormed the temple on March 5, 1988: "It took one hour for the police to get everyone out. The police used tear gas, they beat the monks with clubs with nails driven through the ends, AK 47s, cattle prods. They beat everyone all over their bodies: on the head, arms, backs, and legs. Many of the monks were bleeding. Nine people that I saw died in the first hour. I do not know how many people died in prison afterward. Sixty-four people were taken from inside the Jokhang to prison. A Chinese policeman was killed. He was hit by stones while taking photos on the roof of the Jokhang. Then he was thrown off the roof. He died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. I was bleeding badly from wounds to the head, and from the mouth, because of too many beatings to my chest. I also had bruises all over my body, on all limbs." claims medically. That major long term damage results from torture is evident; Dawa was noted to babble incoherently as a result of torture and had to be helped by other prisoners to eat and use the toilet. Another monk named Kelsang Dhongod from Jokhang Temple was so badly beaten by the police that he could still only perform menial light tasks, such as rolling up scriptures, six months after his release. More disturbing reports of the consequences of torture include broken bones, untreated infections, deafness, impairment of memory and speech, and the inability to recognize friends. Tortured prisoners were also seen to have persistent blood coming from the ears and mouth and in their urine, bruises over their entire body, and severe weight loss. One friend taking care of a released prisoner also noted wounds where dogs had bitten the victim's legs. In the winter of 1988 an American physician named Christopher Beyrer treated ș recent refugees from Tibet in northern India. After seeing approximately 50 people a day for 12 days, Dr. Beyrer reported that: "I believe my clinical judgement to be sound when I assert that these people have been victims of systematic physical torture." Of a 50 year-old Tibetan woman he wrote: I examined both ankles and found them to be deeply bruised #104 Dr. Beyrer also examined and found that this woman had a cardiac arrythmia and a heart murmur. She had been interrogated for three consecutive days with an 106 We encountered several documented consequences of torture in the literature. 104 Christopher C. Beyrer, M.D., New York State Journal of Medicine, June 1988. 105 Ibid. 106 Ibid. 107 For example, guards reportedly stomped on the head of Tsering Nyima, a prisoner in Drapchi, and he is now almost deaf." According to one report, a Tibetan tortured three months before still had infected hands and fingers "from being broken and split open the first few days of his arrest." Another ex-prisoner complained of severe backaches and painful ribs when he bent, as a result of the beatings." 108 109 Even without the benefit of on-site investigation, it is clear from the information gathered by ourselves, Dr. Beyrer and others that victims of torture in Tibet are likely to be left with long term physical problems. Psychological Implications of Torture Torture has profound psychological implications for victims and their families. During our interviews, victims told us that since their torture they continued to have serious problems with depression, paranoia, headaches, and visual disturbances consistent with post traumatic stress syndrome. Having experienced severe stress beyond normal human capacity, torture victims can be expected to confront a range of adverse symptoms, including nightmares and insomnia. Jampey Losel (Kathmandu, 11/20/88), the 23 year-old monk who told us that he quickly became "mentally sick" from torture, said he spent 15 days in the Tibetan hospital upon his release to recuperate. When we talked to him in a hiding place in Kathmandu he was still mentally unstable, though coherent and willing to relate what he could. Tinley Chophel, a 25 year-old man from Lhasa (Dharamsala, 11/4/88), reported that he knew several monks who "became mentally retarded" either from prolonged torture or an injection. The most insidious consequence of torture may come from injections given to some prisoners before their release. These injections are said to render the prisoner unable to speak normally, to pronounce words or be understood, or to answer questions or recognize friends. From our interviews alone it is impossible to distinguish the adverse affects of an injection from those of torture or electric shock. We are aware of one reported case of a torture victim becoming extremely depressed after his release and committing suicide. 107 The Washington Post also reported on a prisoner going deaf from torture. Daniel Southerland, "Tibetan Tells of Torture," Sept. 6, 1988. 108 From interview transcript published in the Tibet Press Watch, Vol. 1, p. 41, the International Campaign for Tibet. 109 TIN, Int. #8, p.11. Blake Kerr, M.D. with patient after October demonstration. (Photo: Asupi) Outside of Prison In the fall of 1987 the authors found that some Tibetans wounded in demonstrations feared arrest if they went to the hospital, and that Lhasa's People's Hospital, on occasion, refused to treat Tibetans injured during demonstrations. One Tibetan man who had been shot in the calf was taken to the People's Hospital where a Chinese surgeon removed the bullet. As soon as the sutures were in place, the man ran away and told Dr. Kerr later that if he had not fled, he believed the police would have taken him to prison. Both of these allegations have since been confirmed.110 Following the December 10, 1988, demonstration, Amnesty International reported that "accurate casualty figures were hard to establish because many Tibetans refused to be admitted to the hospital, fearing arrest.'" 111 110 John Pomfet, "China Declares Martial Law in Tibet," Associated Press, March 7, 1989. See also interview transcript published in the Tibet Press Watch, Vol. 1, p. 43. 111 Amnesty Action, January/February, 1989, p.4. |