Thinlay Chukki, Special Appointee for Human Rights testifies on the deplorable conditions of the Tibetan political prisoners under the Chinese rule at a web conference organized in the Senate Building of the Italian Republic, 23 November 2020.
Geneva: The Tibet Bureau Geneva staff Thinlay Chukki, Special Appointee for Human Rights testified on the deplorable conditions of the Tibetan political prisoners under the Chinese rule at a web conference organized in the Senate Building of the Italian Republic on 23 November 2020.
The conference was organized by the Nonviolent Radical Party, Transnational Transparty, and Senator Lucio Malan of Italy with the support of the Global Committee for the Rule of Law “Marco Pannella” (GCRL) and the Italian Federation of Human Rights (FIDU).
The conference titled “From #Save12HKyouths to the Case of Political Prisoners in Hong Kong, China, Venezuela, Iran and Cambodia” hosted direct testimonies of victims, witnesses and experts on the increase of political persecution as an instrument of censorship and elimination of democratic opposition within authoritarian countries.
Along with Thinlay Chukki, Nathan Law (activist, Hong Kong); Jianli Yang (activist, China); Lorent Salch (Activist, Venezuela); Mona Silawi (Activist, Iran); Mu Sochua (Opposition leader, Cambodia); Theresly Malave (Human Rights Lawyer, Justicia y Processo, Venezuela); and Jared Genser (Human Rights Lawyer, Perseus Strategies LLC, USA) testified at the conference.
Speaking about the deplorable conditions of the Tibetan political prisoners Thinlay Chukki noted that, “As we prepare to celebrate 72nd anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights next month, every single right enshrined in the Declaration is being violated in Tibet by China. When Tibetans stand up for their rights, China is using vague terminologies and absurd interpretation of laws to frame them with criminal charges. They are arbitrarily detained without any official charges for months during which time they are subjected to inhumane treatments and torture, even leading to custodial deaths. The Tibetan political prisoners are denied of free and fair trial and are sentenced to long prison terms. Many such political prisoners have died upon release due to their frail health resulting from years of torture and starvation.”
She further highlighted the cases of Panchen Lama Gedhun Choekyi Nyima, Tashi Wangchuk, Anya Sengdra and also spoke about the custodial deaths like Tulku Tenzin Delek as well as the recent case of 36-year-old Lhamo who died in hospital due to torture in custody.
Highlighting the significance of international community’s continued support, Thinlay Chukki noted that “Italy should join forces with other countries to push the UN Human Rights Council to appoint a Special rapporteur on China to monitor and report on the Human Rights Violations that is being carried out by the Chinese government. Italy should also consider laws similar to Magnitsky Act, Reciprocal Access to Tibet etc. Because this is no longer about Tibetans alone now, it has spread to Xinjiang, Southern Mongolia, Hong Kong and with the Belt and Road Initiative, it will spread to Italy and across the world. It is time to take a strong stand on China otherwise the world will witness many more new Tibets.”
She concluded by stating that “we should continue to amplify the voices of the political prisoners and the freedoms that they fight for. China should be held accountable.”
Conference organized by the Nonviolent Radical Party, Transnational Transparty, and Senator Lucio Malan of Italy with the support of the Global Committee for the Rule of Law “Marco Pannella” (GCRL) and the Italian Federation of Human Rights (FIDU).