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TESTIMONIES |
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Tibet's longest serving political prisoner
Palden Gyatso is perhaps Tibet's best known political prisoner, who spent 33 years in Chinese jails and detention centres.
He is also known for the tireless work he has done since to highlight the use of torture in Tibet by travelling the world and talking about his horrific experiences. Free Tibet supporters got to meet Palden at a small gathering in 2008, and to hear him speak at the Uprising Day rally at Trafalgar Square.
Born in 1933 and a fully ordained Buddhist monk, Palden Gyatso was first arrested after the 1959 Tibetan uprising, and was brutally tortured during 33 years of imprisonment. He was arrested for taking part in the uprising by refusing to accuse other Tibetans of spying against the Chinese state. He escaped imprisonment during this time but was re-captured and severely tortured during the many years he spent within the Chinese prison system. Despite this torture, he remained steadfast in following his Buddhist teachings, and was finally released in 1992.
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Following his release, he escaped into exile, and now lives in Dharamsala, India. Since moving into exile, Palden has become politically active by travelling to Europe, America and around the world, recounting his experiences and urging action to end the Chinese occupation of Tibet. He has spoken to politicians, Tibet supporters and addressed the United Nations Human Rights Council. He has written an autobiography, 'Fire Under the Snow', which recounts his experiences of torture in Chinese jails which has now been made into a documentary film. |
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"If I was to list the methods of torture used on me it would be endless... It doesn't matter how repressive they are; the truth will always remain the truth."
“The guard removed the electric truncheon from its socket and started poking me... My entire body convulsed because of the repeated shocks. Then, screaming lewdly, he thrust the truncheon inside my mouth, retracted it and then forced it inside again. …I remember vividly how the electric shocks made my body vibrate... I passed out, only to wake up in a pool of urine and vomit. I had no idea as to how long I had been lying there. My mouth was swollen and I could hardly move my jaw. With great effort did I manage to spit something out. It was three of my teeth."
“These unthinkable tortures are still happening today... Inside Tibet, so many people have died. Sometimes they kill you by a bullet... They go back to the family and say you have to pay for five bullets or for the rope. I sometimes have no words to express behaviour like that." |
Palden Gyatso with torture instruments smuggled out of jail
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Reaction to Palden Gyatso's case
The Chinese government has been quick to deny Palden Gyatso's chilling evidence of torture, but it's claims that his account is untrue does not hold up against the huge body of evidence on torture in Tibet, which the United Nations states is 'widespread' and 'routine'.
Chinese ambassador Ma Yuzhens said to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights that "Palden Gyatso is a criminal who persisted in activities directed at the government. Among the crimes committed are- activities aimed at overthrowing the government, escaping from prison and theft. Palden Gyatso’s story of how he was tortured by the prison guards is untrue. Torture is forbidden in Chinese prisons.”
Free Tibet continues to expose cases of torture in Tibet by gathering evidence and eyewitness testimonies and highlighting the cases of individual political prisoners. Despite denying that torture takes place in Chinese prisons, the Chinese authorities have been known to lessen or end the torture which is put upon prisoners whose cases become publicly known. This creates accountability, and prisoners who survive this treatment and dare to speak up against it when they finally escape into exile bare witness to the treatment of Tibetans. Their couragous testimonies underline the fact that China must end torture in Tibet and respect the United Nations agreements on treatment of prisoners which it has signed up to.
Source: freetibet.org |
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