Tibetans Sentenced without Fair Trial; Lawyers Offering Aid Face Punishment

China must respect due process rights and investigate alleged torture

(Chinese Human Rights Defenders, May 2, 2008) - Tibetans sentenced on April 29 had no lawyers of their choosing and were allegedly tortured and forced to confess, families told CHRD’s contacts today. Meanwhile, lawyers who offered free legal assistance to the accused Tibetans have been threatened with punishment.

The families said that the defendants were not allowed to appoint legal counsel of their choosing but were assigned lawyers by the authorities. For fear of retaliation, families were too afraid to invite independent lawyers who offered help. The appointed lawyers did not meet the defendants prior to the trial and some sought harsher punishment for the accused while in court.

The families, who wish to remain anonymous, also said that almost all the defendants were tortured and coerced to confess. But they are unable to divulge more details for fear for the safety of their extended families.   

Most of the twenty-one lawyers, who extended legal aid to the arrested Tibetans in a letter made public on April 2, have been summoned for questioning, made to admit wrongdoings, told to dissociate from the initiative, and threatened with punishment by the authorities. Many of them have been placed under police surveillance. The Beijing Bureau of Judiciary Affairs has suspended the renewal of the licenses (usually completed by the end of May) of many of the lawyers. The Bureau also told several law firms, where some of the “problematic” lawyers are employed, that renewal of the firms’ licenses is now put on hold.

On April 14, Beijing Municipal Lawyers Association, a professional body organized and controlled by the government, issued a notice warning other Beijing lawyers against taking independent initiatives to defend those involved in “sensitive and collective cases”. When dealing with these cases, the notice says, lawyers must report to the Lawyers Association and “coordinate and communicate” with the relevant authorities. Lawyers should “protect socialism” and work to “promote harmony and stability”.

CHRD deplores the denial of the Tibetans’ right to legal counsel and fair trial, which is guaranteed in China’s Criminal Procedure Law as well as Article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

CHRD calls on independent investigation of the alleged torture of the convicted Tibetans. The Chinese government must respect Article 7 of the ICCPR, which China has signed but not yet ratified, as well as the UN Convention against Torture, which China ratified in 1988, to ensure that the Tibetans incarcerated are not tortured or subjected to other forms of cruel and inhuman treatment.

On April 29, thirty Tibetans were sentenced to between three years and life imprisonment for participating in the “riots” around the Tibetan regions in mid-March. The Tibetans were convicted of the crimes of “arson”, “robbery”, “creating trouble”, “gathering crowds to attack state organs”, “obstructing public duty” and “theft”.

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