By Tenzin Monlam
DHARAMSHALA, March 9: A Tibetan political prisoner currently serving five-year imprisonment was transferred to Da Xia Ping Prison Hospital in Gansu Province earlier this month for medical treatment.
Jigme Gyatso a.k.a Jigme Guri’s family members were informed of his admission through phone. When asked about the reason for his admission, the authorities informed them that Jigme had no grave illness and asked them not to worry.
“A judge from a Chinese court informed his family about his admission in the prison medical facility through a phone call. The Chinese authority asked them not to worry,” said Jendun Phuntsok, student of Jigme Gyatso living in exile.
According to information coming from Tibet, the monk from Labrang Monastery was allowed to meet his family once in a month but prohibited from serving food. Moreover, he was allowed only 20 seconds of telephonic conversation with his family.
During the last family visit on January 25, Jigme told his family to be alert about the Chinese authorities’ plan to take him to a medical facility. Despite having no sign of illness then, his family members grew apprehensive since his sentence was nearing to end with only six months left.
Jigme Gyatso was initially arrested in 2006 for attending the Kalachakra Puja initiated by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and was rearrested in 2008 after a peaceful protest by hundreds of monks.
Despite getting arrested several times, he shared his experience in a VOAinterview about his six month’s experience in prison where he was subjected to extreme torture.
Jigme was arrested again on August 8, 2011 for the fourth time. However, he was only sentenced to five years after the Chinese authorities detained him for over three years.
He had earlier appealed for a reduction of his sentence under the Chinese prison system’s accumulation of prison labor points, which allows a prisoner to apply for a reduced sentence. However, his appeal was rejected.
If the appeal was approved, he would be eligible for release in February 2016.
