Confirming statements made by the Chinese authorities to foreign governments, the official Chinese press agency Xinhua reported on Wednesday 26 January 2005 the commutation of the death penalty given to Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche into a sentence of life imprisonment. At his trial, Tenzin Deleg was given a two-year reprieve before the sentence was due to be carried out, and because, according to Xinhua, Tenzin Deleg “did not intentionally violate the relevant law specifications again during the execution period of the past two-year reprieve” the sentence was commuted. The Xinhua report re-affirms that he had “confessed to the crime” and also provides details of the legal procedures used against him, in an attempt to demonstrate that the case was handled strictly according to the rule of law. The report reiterates that Tenzin Deleg was sentenced “for a crime of conducting terrorist bombings and inciting secession activities” and stipulates that the decision to commute the sentence was handed down on the day that the reprieve expired. Providing a summary of the case that paraphrases the court verdict, the report also states that “when investigating and hearing the case (…) [the] judicial authority had informed A’an Zhaxi [Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche’s Chinese name] of his legal rights as a suspect” and that the “relevant legal documents” were presented to him “in Tibetan” and that he was represented by two defence lawyers. Finally the report emphasises that Tenzin Deleg is being “fairly and well treated” in jail.
The zeal with which the report strives to depict the case against Tenzin Deleg as strictly lawful and accurate must be seen in the context of widespread international criticism against the arbitrary nature of his arrest, the harshness of his and his associates’ treatment and the lack of transparency of the legal process. Before his arrest during a police raid on 07 April 2002, Tenzin Deleg was running a network of religious and charitable institutions in the Lithang region in Kham in eastern Tibet (Sichuan province). Reports from the region documented an atmosphere of repression and fear following Tenzin Deleg’s arrest. Many active members of Tenzin Deleg’s network were arrested at the same time as the Rinpoche or shortly after. Except for Lobsang Dondrup, who was accused of exploding a bomb in Sichuan’s provincial capital Chengdu on 03 April 2002 and executed on 26 January 2003, most of Tenzin Deleg’s associates have subsequently been released but reports of torture and heavy pressure even after release have been persistent. One of the last known, Tashi Phuntsog, was released from jail on 06 January 2005. A report published by Human Rights Watch on 26 January 2005 states that Tashi Phuntsog is now “literally (…) a broken man” having suffered “serious physical deterioration in prison”. He is said to be no longer able to walk or to speak clearly. However, Tashi Phuntsog is said to have already been suffering from tuberculosis before his arrest. Reports of torture or ill-treatment of TDR and his associates cannot be investigated since the Chinese authorities do not allow foreign observers effective access to the people concerned.
The legal process which led to Tenzin Deleg’s death sentence, with a two year reprieve, on 26 January 2003, and Lobsang Dondrup’s execution, was heavily criticised internationally, in particular by the EU states and the US. The late Sergio Vieira de Mello, then United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, wrote to the Chinese authorities expressing his concern that the trial “does not appear to have met minimum standards”. Despite assurances by the Chinese authorities to allow them, international observers were not invited to attend the trial. Linking the case to the fight against terrorism, a Xinhua report of January 2003 justified holding the proceedings in secret by stating that “the court did not hold an open hearing because some of the defendants’ criminal acts were related to state secrets”. So far no evidence against Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche has been made public.
