The Chinese authorities have confirmed that the female head of the former Gyatso children’s home in Lhasa, Nima Choedron, was convicted for political reasons and is serving ten years in prison. Thirty-five year old Nima Choedron was arrested on 26 August 1999 with her partner, Jigme Tenzin Rinpoche (known as ‘Bangri’ Rinpoche), the head of the children’s home, who is apparently serving a 15-year sentence. The new information was made available to a Western government during a recent session of human rights dialogue with China. The authorities stated that Nima, a former nun, had been tried on 26 September 2000 for ‘splitting the state’ and that on 2 September 2002 she was given an 18-month reduction of sentence because she had expressed ‘repentence’, meaning that she will be due for release on 2 February 2008. The statement also acknowledged that there are health concerns for Nima Choedron, referring to her ‘poor eyesight’.
The circumstances leading up to the arrests of Nima Choedron and Bangri Rinpoche are not clear. Reports from Tibet at the time indicated that there may have been some connection to Tashi Tsering, the building contractor who staged a protest in August 1999, the same month as their arrest, during the National Minority Games in Lhasa by attempting to lower the Chinese flag in the Potala Square and then explode a bomb (see: http://www.tibetinfo.co.uk/news-updates/nu230300.htm) Tashi Tsering, who died in prison after severe maltreatment in February 2000, had reportedly been involved in discussions with the Rinpoche about building work at the children’s home. Other reports indicated that the Rinpoche might have had some influential opponents to his work at the children’s home, which received funding from foreign charities including one in the US and others in Europe.
Following the detentions of Bangri Rinpoche and Nima in 1999, the Gyatso school was closed down and according to reports from donors, the bank account of the school was frozen. At least five teachers and carers were arrested and several served sentences in prison. There is concern that at least two of these staff members may not yet have been released. Geleg Nima, a Tibetan thangka painter at the school, apparently served a ‘reform through labour’ sentence. While some of the children from the home were sent back to the areas they came from, others apparently had nowhere to go and were left begging on the streets of Lhasa. Some of the children were interrogated by police in Lhasa, until concern for their psychological welfare caused more senior officials to intervene to stop the interrogations.
The length of the sentences of both Bangri Rinpoche and Nima, and the fact that staff were also arrested and children from the home were questioned, are consistent with earlier reports given in response to questions from Western governments that both Bangri Rinpoche and Nima had been convicted for political offences described by the authorities as ‘endangering state security’, a serious charge in the PRC. The charge of ‘splittism’ against Nima is confirmed by the latest statement from Beijing, although no further details are available of the nature of the charges against Bangri Rinpoche.
Ngawang Sangdrol, a former nun who was serving the longest sentence among female prisoners before her release in 2002 following international pressure on Beijing, recalls seeing Nima Choedron in Drapchi prison (Tibet Autonomous Region Prison), and confirms the concern for her eyesight and general health. Ngawang Sangdrol, who is now in the US, said: ‘Despite the weak eyesight and pain Nima feels on account of her poor eyesight, she is forced to knit for long hours and meet her work quota. Lighting in her cell is poor.’ The Chinese authorities confirmed in its recent note to a Western government that Nima is ‘assigned to light manual labour at Drapchi…when she entered prison she was short-sighted, and she now wears corrective lenses.’ Ngawang, who referred to Nima Choedron as an educated person who could speak English, also said that Nima was kept in solitary confinement for about one year when she arrived at Drapchi, indicating that the authorities appear to have aimed to keep her separate from other prisoners, possibly as a further punishment.
This is one in a series of independent reports by Kate Saunders commissioned by the Australia Tibet Council, Free Tibet Campaign and the International Campaign for Tibet.
