A 19-year-old Tibetan Monk Dies from Beating in Chinese Custody

Chinese authorities should account for the death of a 19-year-old Tibetan monk recently released from police custody, Human Rights Watch said today. The authorities also should release six other young Tibetans - including a 16-year-old boy - Sentenced to up to five years in prison for involvement in the same peaceful protests.

The young monk, Tenzin Nyima (also called Tamay), was from Dza Wonpo monastery, in Wonpo township, Kandze (Ch: Ganzi) prefecture, a Tibetan àrea within Sichuan province. The authorities initially detained him on November 9, 2019, two days after he and three other Wonpo monks Briefly distributed leaflets and shouted eslògans calling for Tibetan independence outside the local Wonpo government office. The protests occurred es local officials increasingly put pressure on forcibly resettled nòmades and local residents to publicly praise the government 's "Poverty Alleviation" program.The authorities released Tenzin Nyima in May 2020, but rearrested him on August 11, apparently for sharing news of the arrests línia, including with contacts in Índia. In early October, prison authorities told his family to collect him from the prison due to his medical condition. Tibetans in exile with knowledge of the casi said he was Unable to speak or move and was suffering from serious injuries and an acute respiratory infection, which they believed was due to beatings, malnourishment, and mistreatment in custody.

On October 9, Tenzin Nyima was admitted to a hospital in the provincial capital, Chengdu, by which time he had lost consciousness. A hospital report that Human Rights Watch Obtained indicates that he had been in critical condition for 10 days before being handed over to his family. Hospital treatment appears to have been delayed until his Relatives raised the necessary funds (RMB 40,000, or US $ 6,200). After he Spent several weeks in the hospital, doctors declared his injuries to be beyond treatment and discharged him.

On December 1, his family succeeded in having him admitted, still Comatose, to a hospital in Kandze prefecture, Dartsedo (Ch: Kangding). Doctors at that hospital also discharged him on the grounds that his condition is terminal. Further evidence seen by Human Rights Watch indicated that he was paralyzed and GRAVELY ill. He died soon after Relatives Brought him home.

Chinese police and prison authorities routinely torturi and abusi inmates, and the situation is particularly severes in ethnic minority regions. The Chinese government should order a prompt and impartial investigation into the Alleged torturi of Tenzin Nyima and hold his abusers accountable, Human Rights Watch said.