Human rights organisation claims over 1,800 Tibetans detained in Chinese prisons: Report

The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) in Dharamshala has developed an online database of Tibetan political prisoners, claiming that 1,809 Tibetans are presently held in Chinese prisons. The initiative is in partnership with HURIDOCS' (Human Rights Information and Documentation Systems) Uwazi application, which is situated in Geneva, ANI reported citing Phayul. The report further stated that since 1990, a database containing information on 5,518 Tibetan political prisoners had been compiled. According to Tenzin Dawa, a researcher, as many as 3,067 inmates have been released, while 1,809 still remain in Chinese prisons.

TCHRD stated that the database, which was launched on Human Rights Day, will be updated with new information obtained from observers. Every year on December 10, Human Rights Day is commemorated across the world under the supervision of the United Nations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 10, 1948. According to Phayul, the database was created after evaluating earlier records in TCHRD's archives and cross-checking with other similar resources. It stated that the county-level GPS coordinates of each prisoner's place of origin are included in the database. 

Researcher Woeser says data gathered from open sources

"5,518 is not a small number. These are cases that have been confirmed and entered into the database with appropriate proof. This alone should hold China accountable for its atrocities, if only it were a country that accepted the truth," researcher Nyima Woeser was quoted by ANI as saying.

The group also stated that the data was gathered from open sources, implying that many more incidents are yet to be discovered. TCHRD's records contain almost 300 cases of detention that remain unsolved because no information was received after the detainees completed their sentences. 

Tibet governed by Chinese Communist Party

Meanwhile, the human rights organisation called on the international community to condemn China's continuous atrocities on Tibetan land, which go virtually unnoticed. "We call on the international community including the United Nations, organizations, and individuals to exert pressure on China to put an immediate halt to its state-sponsored policy of cultural assimilation in Tibet," TCHRD stated. It should be mentioned here that Tibet is governed by the Chinese Communist Party, with local decision-making power resting with Chinese party officials. Tibet was a sovereign state before China invaded northern Tibet in 1950 with the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

(With inputs from ANI)

(Image: AP)