
GARI 14 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

compiled by:
The Rinchen Project
International Committee of Lawyers for Tibet
347 Dolores St., Suite 206
San Francisco, CA  94110
(415) 252-5967
(415) 626-0865
iclt@igc.apc.org



The next phase of the Rinchen Project will focus on a group of 14 nuns 
from Gari Nunnery who were arrested in June, 1993.  The nuns have been 
sentenced to up to seven years for participating in pro-independence 
demonstrations, and include a 15-year old girl. Twelve of the 14 nuns 
arrested allegedly took part in a demonstration that may never have 
taken place.  In order to create name recognition among the general 
public, the Rinchen Project has chosen to publicize the group as the 
"Gari 14."  Although these nuns represent less than a third of those 
imprisoned from Gari Nunnery, the Project felt it critical we use the 
lesson of Gendun Rinchen and continue to focus on specific individuals 
or identifiable groups.  The  immediate goal of the Project is make the 
Gari 14 so visible that MFN cannot be granted in June without their 
release.  A petition has been prepared.  Please contact the office if 
you would be willing to gather signatures.  We are also in the process 
of preparing a brochure on behalf of the Gari 14. We will send a copy 
upon its completion.




NOTE:  THE FIRST TWO 10 REPORT REFERS TO THE "GARI 14."  THE REPORTS 
THAT FOLLOW MAY BE USED AS BACKGROUND INFORMATION, AND INCLUDE 
INFORMATION ABOUT THE "REEDUCATION CAMPAIGN" BEING CARRIED OUT AT GARI.  
ALSO INCLUDED IS INFORMATION CONCERNING THE RECENT ARRESTS OF INCREASED 
SENTENCING OF OTHER NUNS.  THE 14 NUNS WHOSE SENTENCES WERE INCREASED 
FOR SINGING SONGS ARE NOT THE GARI 14, BUT THE STORY IS VERY RELEVANT TO 
THEIR CONDITIONS.

A GARI 14 PETITION FOLLOWS AT THE END.


Tibet Information Network
10 January, 1994

Nuns Sentenced to 7 years for June "Incident"

The Chinese authorities in Lhasa have sentenced 12 nuns to up to seven 
years for taking part in a pro-independence incident last June which no- 
one seems to have seen and which may never have happened.

The imprisoned nuns - who include a 15 year old girl - come from Gari 
nunnery, 5 km north of Lhasa, and were arrested on 14th June 1993.  
There are no reports of any demonstration in or near Lhasa that day, and 
some sources say that the nuns were arrested before they had managed to 
begin any protest.

Two of the nuns, Ngawang Dedrol, age 25, from Chumda township in 
Medrogungkar county and Phuntsog Choekyi, age 22, from Kache township in 
Phenpo Lhundrup county, have now been sentenced to 7 years in prison for 
their part in the incident or attempted incident, according to 
unofficial sources.

Ngawang Keldron, a 19 year old nun from Meldro Gyama, has been sentenced 
to 5 years in prison.

Nine other nuns from Gari who took part in the 14th June incident have 
been tried and given sentences of between 2 and 4 years, according to 
unofficial sources in the capital.  The date of the trial is not known, 
but must have been within the last three months.  The Chinese 
authorities have not issued any public statements on the convictions.

All 12 of the Gari nuns have now been moved to Drapchi prison in Lhasa, 
officially known as Tibet Autonomous Region Prison No. 1, where the most 
serious offenders are held, bringing the total number of nuns imprisoned 
there for political offenses to 49, according to some reports.  32 of 
the women in Drapchi are believed to be nuns from Gari.  There are 
thought to be 124 monks and 35 laymen who are held in the same prison 
for political offenses.

Amongst the 12 nuns believed to have been sent to Drapchi for the 14th 
June "incident" is a 15 year old girl, Gyaltsen Pelsang, who is too 
young to be admitted legally to a prison, according to Chinese laws.

Two other Gari nuns, Ngawang Yangkyi and Gyaltsen Tsultrim, both aged 22 
and from Nyangdra township in Lhasa, were also tried and sentenced at 
the same time to imprisonment in Drapchi prison, according to the 
reports.  The two nuns had been arrested after they started a brief pro- 
independence demonstration in the centre of Lhasa on 4th June 1993.  
Their sentences are unknown.

Within days of the 14 Gari nuns being arrested the Chinese authorities 
in Lhasa sent a `work team' composed of Communist Party officials to the 
nunnery to begin a 3 month series of political re-education sessions 
with the remaining 90 women at Gari.

-----------------------------------------------------
Nuns from Gari nunnery arrested June 14, 1993, convicted and now held in 
Drapchi:

Ngawang Dedrol, age 25, layname Rinchen Choedron, from Chumda township 
in Medrogungkar county: 7 years
Phuntsog Choekyi, age 22, layname Dekyi, from Kache township in Phenpo 
Lhundrup county: 7 years
Ngawang Keldron, age 19, layname Goekyi, from Gyama township in Meldro 
county: 5 years
Gyaltsen Sangmo, age 24 layname Zompa, from Tsara village in Kongpo 
Gyamda: 3yrs
Ngawang Chendrol or Ngawang Peldrol, layname Phurbu Drolkar, age 18, 
from Yung-nga township in Phenpo Lhundrup county: 3yrs
Gyaltsen Kelsang, layname Kelsang Drolma, age 23, from Ngangdren 
township, Lhasa; 2yrs
Rinchen Drolma, age 23, from Phenpo Lungshoe: 2yrs Gyaltsen Kunga, age 
23, layname Yangkyi, from Thonchue village, Nyemo county: sentence not 
known
Gyaltsen Pelsang, age 15, layname Nyima or Migmar, from Trikhang 
village, Meldro Gyama: sentence not known
Ngawang Chime, age 19, layname Phurdrol, from Drigung or Meldro Gongkar 
Drangda township in Meldrogungkar county
Ngawang Choekyi, age 21, also known as Ngawang Chelmo or Choegna,
from Phenpo Lungshoe: sentence not known
Ngawang Palmo, layname Tsering, age 22, from Phenpo Lungshoe: sentence 
not known


Nuns from Gari Nunnery arrested in a demonstration on 4th June 1993:

Ngawang Yangkyi or Ngawang Yangdrol, age 22, layname Kunsang, from 
Nyangra township in Lhasa: sentence not known
Gyaltsen Tsultrim, age 22, layname Migmar Tsamchoe or Migmar Choekyi, 
from Nyangra township in Lhasa: sentence not known

==================================================================

ELEVEN TIBETAN BUDDHIST NUNS SENTENCED 2 TO 7 YEARS

BEIJING, February 4, AP -- Eleven Tibetan Buddhist nuns have been 
sentenced to prison terms ranging from two to seven years, apparently 
for attempting a  protest, Amnesty International reported Friday.

The sentences came to light the same day China announced the early 
releases of three political prisoners in an apparent response to 
stepped-up pressure from Washington to relax repression of dissent.

The international human rights group Amnesty International said the nuns  
from Garu Nunnery, north of the Tibetan capital city of Lhasa, were 
arrested  on June 14. The report was not clear on the reason for the 
arrests, but said  unofficial sources in Lhasa speculated the nuns were 
arrested before they  managed to begin a protest.

The nuns were 18 to 25 years of age. The report listed the sentences for 
eight of them, but said the jail terms for the remaining three were not 
known.    It said the nuns were taken to Drapchi prison outside Lhasa, 
which holds Tibet's most serious political prisoners. Currently, of the 
208 political prisoners there, 49 are nuns, 124 are monks and 35 are 
layman, Amnesty International said.

Also arrested with the 11 nuns was a 15-year-old novice from the same 
nunnery, Gyaltsen Pelsang. The report said she may be being held in the 
Gutsa Detention Center with adults and subject to the same work regime 
as the  adults. It cited the case of another novice who was arrested 
last spring,  beaten and sent to the same detention center, where she is 
still believed to  be held.

Amnesty International's report followed a report last month by another  
human rights group that said Chinese authorities have stepped up efforts 
to  halt political activism among Tibet's Buddhist nuns, who have led 
frequent pro-independence protests over the past six years.

The report by the Tibet Information Network, which maintains contacts 
with Tibetan residents, said official work teams held lectures in the 
nunneries and persuaded older nuns to oppose dissent among younger nuns, 
who tend to be bolder. It said officials reduced the number of nuns 
allowed to live at some nunneries and ordered them to expel nuns 
suspected of pro-independence sympathies or arrested for activism.

Pro-independence sentiment is strong among Tibetan Buddhist monks and 
nuns because of their strong loyalty to the Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled 
leader, who has sought autonomy for the Himalayan region. However, the 
Chinese maintain  that they have had sovereignty over Tibet since the 
13th century.


.               TIN News Update / 12 January, 1994

- Nuns Protest after Re-education Campaign -

A 3 month campaign by the Chinese authorities in Lhasa to re-educate 
women in Tibetan nunneries led to a wave of demonstrations by Buddhist 
nuns in the Tibetan capital last month, with at least 22 women arrested, 
according to reports from Tibet.

There were six pro-independence demonstrations staged by Tibetan nuns, 
one on each day from 9th to 14th December, according to the latest 
reports from Lhasa.  Earlier reports had referred to just two 
demonstrations in that period.

The names are known of 17 women who were arrested during the protests, 
all of them believed to come from Shungseb nunnery, 20 km south of 
Lhasa.  Eight were detained for shouting "Tibet is independent" on the 
east side of the Barkor, the centre of the Tibetan quarter of Lhasa, at 
around 10 am on Thursday 9th December. They were named by unofficial 
sources as Rigzin Tsondru, Norzin, Champa Choekyi, Namgyal Choedron, 
Choenyi Drolma, Sherab Drolma, Norbu Yangchen, and Lodro Pema.

"These nuns were arrested by the Chinese plainclothes agents who usually 
hang around in the Barkor, and then taken to the police station in the 
Barkor Square," said one Tibetan source.

On 11th December six nuns were detained during a similar protest. Their 
names were given as Pendron, Yangdron, Yeshi Kunsang, Yeshi Choesang, 
Chime Wangmo and Tsering Choedron.  Three other nuns - Yeshi Tsondru, 
Tsultrim Tharchin and Tsering Choekyi - were arrested on 12th December.

A eyewitness contacted by TIN saw three other nuns being arrested on the 
southern stretch of the Barkor on Monday 13th December.  The same source 
said that on Tuesday 14th December they saw two other nuns being 
arrested after a protest in the Barkor square in front of Lhasa's main 
temple, bringing the total of named or witnessed arrests to 22.

Unconfirmed reports claimed that five nuns from Drigung had been 
arrested on 10th December, and that three nuns from Chubsang nunnery had 
been arrested on Sunday 12th December.  All the women had been involved 
in protests calling for Tibetan independence, according to the sources.

A western tourist, interviewed in Kathmandu after arrival from Tibet, 
described by-passers gathering silently in response to the arrest of one 
group of nuns.  "At about 2pm on 12th December I saw a crowd of 150 
Tibetans in front of the police station on the Barkor square", said the 
westerner, a student, who asked not to be named.  "They were silent, 
watching the police station with serious and concerned faces, in what 
seemed to me to be a silent protest."

Each incident lasted only a few minutes before the women were arrested, 
and most people in Lhasa remained unaware of the events. "As soon as 
they start to do something they are taken away, and it is all over so 
quickly that most Tibetans in Lhasa know nothing of these events", said 
an informed source in the capital.

- Campaign to Re-educate Nuns -

The nuns' protests follow a "political re-education" campaign by the 
Chinese authorities in the nunneries in the Lhasa area last autumn.  The 
campaign is part of a concerted effort by the Communist Party in Lhasa 
to eradicate radicalism amongst nuns in the Lhasa area, who have led 55 
of the 126 (43%) known pro-independence protests in Lhasa In the last 
six years.

The re-education campaign is the "soft" end of a dual policy which 
includes rigorous prison sentences for nuns who take part in or plan 
demonstrations.  Earlier this week it was learnt that 14 nuns from Gari 
nunnery had received sentences of up to 7 years for planning or staging 
brief demonstrations in June last year.

The re-education strategy is carried out by "work teams", known in 
Chinese as "gonzuo dui" or in Tibetan as "ledun rukhag", who last year 
spent up to 3 months in regular visits to each of the five main 
nunneries in or near Lhasa -Chubsang, Gari, Tsangkhung, Michungri and 
Shungseb.  The teams, usually consisting of nine or ten party cadres, 
held indoctrination sessions and imposed new regulations, including a 
ban on admission to the nunnery for any woman who has been detained for 
political activities.

"When I left Trisam [reform through education camp] they gave me a 
discharge paper and said I could return to the nunnery, but later I 
found I could not, because a work team is there" said Phuntsog Tseyang, 
an 18 year old nun from Michungri nunnery who fled to India after 
finishing a two year prison sentence in August last year.  Other nuns 
fleeing to India confirm that they have been refused re-admission to 
their nunneries release from prison.

Other regulations imposed by the work teams include a ban on nuns going 
into Lhasa without permission, as well as the expulsion of nuns 
suspected of pro-independence sympathies.  "These days there are about 
37 or 38 nuns at Michungri compared to 90 in 1989 when the nunnery was 
restored", according to Phuntsog Tseyang.  "Most have been expelled or 
are in prison".

At Shungsep nunnery the work teams held a meeting in April 1993 at which 
they imposed a limit of 130 the number of nuns that could live there, 
meaning that 70 women lost their right to reside there.

In Gari nunnery the work team arrived in July and persuaded the older 
nuns to sign an undertaking not to tolerate dissent by others in the 
nunnery.  The older nuns were then told to persuade the younger ones to 
sign similar statements.  "This caused some internal arguments", said 
one source, "but eventually by about August 18th everyone signed".  The 
work team continued its re-education programme for three months, during 
which a number of nuns are said to have left for India, while others 
took jobs as road workers to avoid what was described as the "anger and 
frustration" inside the nunnery.  36 nuns from Gari are currently 
serving prison sentences for staging pro-independence protests.

- Police Controls Increased -

The protests began the morning after the Ganden Ngamchoe, an important 
festival which commemorates the death in 1419 of the Tibetan religious 
reformer Tsongkhapa, founder of the dominant Gelugpa sect.  Tibetans 
mark the festival by placing thousands of butterlamps in their windows.  
"In the middle of the praying people started calling softly for 
independence," said one Tibetan who attended the Lhasa festivities on 
the evening of December 8th.  "We could feel a very strong feeling of 
unity and solidarity among the Tibetans", a western tourist commented on 
the mood of people at the festival.

The nuns' protests were probably timed to mark December 10th, 
international human rights day and the anniversary a pro-independence 
demonstration in 1988, in which Chinese para-militaries shot dead two 
Tibetan demonstrators and injured at least 20 others, including a 
western bystander.

The security forces in Lhasa appear to have been expecting unrest on 
10th December and had imposed a curfew was imposed on the major 
monasteries around Lhasa from 10th to 14th December, and placed 
checkpoints were placed on some of the roads leading to the city.

In the Barkor the two main police stations, which usually close at 6pm, 
were kept open at night.  The number of uniformed police present in the 
Barkor for the week from 7th December was increased, with between 30 and 
50 uniformed officers on duty at any one time, according to one source.  
Since 1990 police have preferred to keep a low profile in the capital 
and usually operate in plainclothes in the Barkor.
============================================================

Nun's Sentence Increased to 17 Years for Singing Song
From:  Tibet Information Network <tin@gn.apc.org>

LONDON, February 20, TIN --  Fourteen nuns in a Tibetan prison have had  
their prison sentences doubled or tripled because they each sang a pro- 
independence song in their prison cell last June, including one woman  
whose sentence has been increased from 9 to 17 years, according to 
unofficial reports from Tibet.

The news of the increased sentences was first announced by the exile 
Tibetan government last month, but has now been confirmed by sources 
within Tibet, and details of the songs have been obtained by the Tibet 
Information Network, an independent news organisation.

The nuns, who were originally serving an average of 5 years in Drapchi 
Prison for taking part in pro-independence demonstrations, now face an 
average of 11 years in prison because of the songs.

The increases have not been publicly revealed by the Chinese authorities 
in Tibet and sit uncomfortably with recent statements by the Chinese 
Government about the leniency with which Tibetan prisoners are treated. 
"Prison terms for 90 prisoners were reduced for their conscientiously 
having followed prison rules and truly repented during their sentences", 
announced Tibet TV on 31st January 1993, describing the reductions as an 
example of the China's policy of "integrating punishment with reform", 
according to the BBC Monitoring Service.

The news of the increased sentences is likely to set back any impression 
that China is softening its human rights policy. On 2nd February the 
Chinese Government confirmed the release the previous month of two 
prominent Tibetan political prisoners, following an international 
campaign by human rights organisations.

- Sentences Tripled, Doubled -

One woman amongst the 14 given increased sentences, a 24 year old nun 
called Tenzin Thubten from Michungri nunnery, has had her sentence 
increased by nine years, nearly tripling it from 5 years to 14 years, 
according to four separate sources.

The increased sentences were handed down at a trial in Lhasa on 8th 
October 1993, according to a report by the Tibetan Government in exile, 
which is based in Northern India.

Reports of the length of sentence handed down to the other 13 women 
vary, but the most authoritative source says that two nuns from Garu 
nunnery, 22 year old Gyaltsen Drolkar and 19 year old Ngawang Sangdrol, 
had their sentences tripled from 4 to 12 years and from 3 to 9 years 
respectively. Nine other nuns had their sentences doubled, according to 
the report, and 2 had 7 year sentences increased to 12 years.

The longest cumulative sentence was handed down to 27 year old Phuntsog 
Nyidron, a nun who was already serving a 9 year sentence, now extended 
to 17 years. According to a former colleagues, the sentence reflects her 
social status not her offence. Phuntsog Nyidron received the longest 
sentence because she was the only one amongst the women who had held a 
semi-official position in her nunnery - she was the chant mistress in 
Michungri, a tiny nunnery near Lhasa, and led the daily prayer services 
there until her arrest in October 1989.

Reports of the sentences first emerged when Ngawang Kyizom, a nun who 
recently completed a three year sentence in another of Lhasa's six 
prisons, went to visit a nun in Drapchi prison and discovered that her 
sentence had been increased by three years for involvement in the 
singing last June. Ngawang Kyizom brought the news to the outside world 
when she escaped to India in December 1993.

- Tape recording -

The sentences given to the nuns may have been exceptionally severe 
because the women recorded their songs on a tape-recorder that had been 
smuggled into the jail. In the eyes of the Chinese authorities the 
public distribution of the nationalist songs could have made the women 
guilty of "spreading counter-revolutionary propaganda", an offence 
considered akin to treason in western terms.

The tape of the nuns singing was circulated secretly in Tibet, and a 
copy is in the possession of the Tibet Information Network in London. 
Each nun announces her name and then dedicates a song or poem to her 
family or supporters, designed to show that the prisoners are in good 
spirits.

"All of you outside who have done all that you can for us in prison, we 
are deeply grateful to you and we will never forget you. Therefore I 
offer a song," says one of the nuns. "Please do not worry about us," 
says another nun on the tape, "We are surviving well and we remain 
united in our determination."

The nuns all sing refrains about separation from their parents: "I send 
my words of comfort to my parents: do not be sad - the time will come 
for our reunion", goes a verse sung by most of the women on the tape.

Buddhist nuns are expected to renounce their family ties when they take 
orders, and the word "parents" would be understood by Tibetans to refer 
to their religious tradition or "family" and to their spiritual teacher, 
in this case the Dalai Lama. He is only referred to directly once on the 
tape: "We remain firm in the belief that by the grace of His Holiness 
the Dalai Lama freedom will appear," says one of the nuns from her cell.

But the main purpose of the tape seems to be to re-affirm the prisoners' 
commitment to Tibetan independence, and it is clear that the songs about 
separation from parents also refer to separation from "the land of snow, 
my beloved great mother", which has been taken away.

     My parent's face will never be forgotten,
     Oh Jewel of Wisdom, [the Dalai Lama] -
     My country has not been sold: [it has been stolen]."

Almost all the nuns include in their song a refrain about the loss
of their country:

     I am in prison but I have no regrets;
     My country has not been sold: [it has been stolen];
     For that we have shed so many tears,
     Oh so many tears!"

The songs have been adapted by the prisoners to describe their current 
situation and give an impression of the experience of prison life: "Our 
food is like pig food, we are beaten and treated brutally," goes a song 
adapted from a traditional Eastern Tibetan poem which compares the Dalai 
Lama to the water that sustains the fish in a lake. "But this will never 
change the Tibetan people's perseverance: It will remain unfaltering", 
it continues. One nun sings about the view from her cell:

     Looking from the window,
     Seeing nothing but the sky
     And the clouds that float in the sky,
     Which I wish were my parents

     We, the captured friends in spirit,
     We might be the ones to fetch the jewel.
     No matter how hard we are beaten
     Our linked arms cannot be separated.

     The cloud from the east
     Is not a patch that is sewn,
     And the time will come when the sun
     From beneath the clouds shall appear.

In August last year there were 55 women prisoners in Drapchi held for 
involvement in demonstrations, twice the number held in 1991. All of the 
demonstrations were non-violent, mostly involving less than half a dozen 
people and lasting less than five minutes. 22 more nuns were arrested 
for demosntrations in December 1993, but their sentences are so far not 
known.
===============================================================

[Reuter's Version Nuns' Song Story]

China Increases Tibetan Nuns' Jail Terms for Song

By David Schlesinger:  Reuters

[We were requested to publish the Reuters version of the nuns' story we 
covered earlier this month.  In this version Beijing confirmed the 
original report from the Tibet Information Network which is a break from 
Chinese government's usual practice of ignoring or denying reports by 
outside human rights monitoring agencies. -CR]

BEIJING, February 21, Reuter -- China doubled or tripled the jail 
sentences  of 14 Tibetan nuns because they sang a ''counter- 
revolutionary'' song in  their prison cells, officials said on Monday.

The officials, from the Tibet Justice Bureau and the Reform-through- 
labor (prison) administration, confirmed by telephone a report by the 
human-rights monitoring group Tibet Information Network (TIN).  The 
report said the nuns had their sentences increased for singing the pro- 
independence song on a tape which was then secretly circulated in the 
Himalayan region.

Confirmation of the stiff punishment -- one sentence was increased to 17 
years -- comes as Beijing is under intense Western pressure for its 
human rights record.

The Himalayan region, which Beijing insists is an integral part of 
Chinese territory, is periodically shaken by separatist protests which 
China firmly puts down each time with police or army action.

Beijing has repeatedly vowed to crush the ''splittist movement'' that it 
accuses the region's exiled spiritual leader, the Nobel Prize-winning 
Dalai Lama, of encouraging.

TIN said all the nuns were in Drapchi prison for taking part in pro- 
independence demonstrations in Lhasa since 1989.

The official from the Reform-through-labor administration said one nun 
had her jail term increased from five years to 14 years and another from 
nine years to 17 years.

Both officials confirmed a total of 14 nuns had been punished. China is 
under strong pressure from the West to improve its human rights record. 
The issue of Tibet is specifically mentioned in President Clinton's 
executive order stating he would only extend China's key Most Favored 
Nation trading privileges if there was human rights progress.   China 
last month freed two Tibetan political prisoners in a move described by 
the United States as ''a step in the right direction.''

The London-based TIN said it had a tape recording of the nuns singing 
their song.

It said the tape, on which each nun announces her name and dedicates a 
song or poem to her family or supporters, had circulated in Tibet 
secretly.   The Dalai Lama is mentioned explicitly only once in the 
tape, when one nun says: ''We remain firm in the belief that by the 
grace of His Holiness the Dalai Lama freedom will appear.''

TIN said the nun now sentenced to 14 years is a 24-year-old from the 
Michungri nunnery named Tenzin Thubten. The nun now serving the longest 
cumulative sentence is 27-year-old Phuntsog Nyidron, whose nine-year 
term was extended to 17 years.   TIN quoted a former colleague of the 
nun as saying she was probably given such a stiff sentence because she 
had held a semi-official position as chant mistress in the tiny 
Michungri nunnery and led the daily prayer service there until her 
arrest in October 1989.

================================================================

List of Nuns Given Increased Sentences at Drapchi Prison

From:   Tibet Information Network <tin@gn.apc.org>

LONDON, February 20, TIN -- [Addendum to TIN News Update 20 February, 
1994]

Ordination name   Age#  Nunnery         Date      1st  2nd  Total*
Birthplce
arrested    sentence*
----------------  ----  ---------      ---------  --------  ---
--------
Ngawang Choezom    22   Chubsang        21/03/92  5  6 yrs  11yrs
Toelung
Gyaltsen Choezom   21   Garu            21/08/90  4a 5      9
Taktse
Gyaltsen Drolkar   19   Garu            21/08/90  4a 8/3/4  12/7
Meldro
Ngawang Sangdrol   18   Garu            17/06/92  3  6/3    9/6
Lhasa
Lhundrup Zangmo    23   Michungri       21/08/90  4a 5/3/4  9/7
Phenpo
Phuntsog Nyidron   23   Michungri       14/10/89  9  8      17
Phenpo
Tenzin Thubten     20   Michungri       21/08/90  5a 9      14
Meldro
Ngawang Choekyi    23   Samdrup Drolma+ 14/05/92  5  8      13
Toelung
Ngawang Lochoe     19   Samdrup Drolma+ 14/05/92  5  5      10
Toelung
Ngawang Tsamdrol   21   Samdrup Drolma+ 14/05/92  5  5      10
Toelung
Jigme Yangchen     23   Shungseb        01/10/90  7  5/3    12/10
Lhokha
Palden Choedron    19   Shungseb        01/10/90  3b 5/3/4  8/6
Phenpo
Rigzin Choekyi     20   Shungseb        22/09/89  7  5/3    12/10
Lhokha
Namdrol Lhamo      28   (none)          12/05/92  6  6      12
Tsang
----------------        --------        -------- -------    ---
------
totals                                           72   86    158
yrs
averages using highest figures                    5.1  6.1   11.29
yrs
averages using lowest figures                          5.0   10.14
yrs


Notes:
# Age as given at the time of sentencing, +/- 1 year
* Alternatives are given for the increased sentences where the sources 
differ
+ Samdrup Drolma Lhakhang describes the temple in a monastery which is 
commonly known by the name of the local village, Toelung Nyen.
a At the time of sentencing (30 November 1990) these four prisoners had 
their sentences pre-emptively reduced for prospective good behaviour by 
1 year from the figure listed here (see Lhasa Intermediate Court 
Sentencing Document 1990 (34)); that one year reduction has probably 
been cancelled by the offence and is not allowed for here.
b Palden Choedron's sentence is given by many sources after 1992 as 7 
years not 3, so it may have been increased due to an unknown earlier 
offence in prison.

Ordination name              Layname
-----------------            -----------------
Ngawang Choezom       -      Pasang Lhamo
Gyaltsen Choezom      -      Penpa Choezom
Gyaltsen Drolkar      -      Dawa
Ngawang Sangdrol      -      Rigchog
Lhundrup Zangmo       -      Zangmo
Phuntsog Nyidron      -      Tseten
Tenzin Thubten        -      Dawa Yangkyi
Ngawang Choekyi       -      Yeshe
Ngawang Lochoe        -      Dondrup Drolma
Ngawang Tsamdrol      -      Dekyi Wangmo
Jigme Yangchen        -      Yangchen
Palden Choedron       -      Palden Yangkyi
Rigzin Choekyi        -      Yangzom
Namdrol Lhamo         -      Nyidrol

- Background: Women in Drapchi Prison -

All the nuns in Drapchi prison are serving sentences for taking part in 
pro-independence demonstrations in Lhasa since 1989. In August 1993 
there were 55 women prisoners in Drapchi held for involvement in 
demonstrations, twice the figure held in 1991. All of the demonstrations 
were non- violent, mostly involving less than half a dozen people and 
lasting less than 5 minutes. Until the October increase in sentences the 
longest sentence was the 9 years imposed on the Michungri chant mistress 
Phuntsog Nyidron.

Recently 14 other nuns were sent to Drapchi for up to 7 years each for 
involvement in a demonstration in June 1993, and in December 1993 at 
least 22 other nuns were detained for demonstrating, but are not yet 
known to have been sentenced.

The nuns are held in Unit 3 of Drapchi Prison, in cells separate from 
common criminals. The authorities decided in 1989 to keep political and 
ordinary criminals separate after they found that political prisoners in 
Drapchi had persuaded two Tibetan men serving sentences for murder to 
join a secret pro-independence group. The 2 men were executed in May 
1990 for joining the group.

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Please put this document into a small font, so that it fits on one sheet 
of paper with 16 sign-up lines.  Thank you.
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A PETITION FOR THE RELEASE OF THE GARI 14 & ALL PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE 
IN TIBET

According to recent reports from Tibet, 12 Buddhist nuns from Gari 
nunnery have been sentenced to prison terms for participating in a 
demonstration to which there are no witnesses.  A 15 year-old girl is 
among those arrested.  According to Chinese law this girl is too young 
to be imprisoned.  The twelve nuns were sentenced without evidence.  
There is no documentation of a demonstration having occurred that day.  
In a separate case, two nuns were sentenced for participating in a brief 
non-violent demonstration in the center of Lhasa on June 4.

Prisoners in Tibet, and China for that matter, are treated without 
regard for human decency.  These women are going to prison without 
proper trial, in a country that is illegally occupied by a brutal 
regime, and are in grave danger of torture, and possibly death.

Name               Age  Sentence   Name               Age  Sentence
Ngawang Dedrol      25  7 years    Gyaltsen Kunga      23  unknown
Phuntsog Choekyi    22  7 years    Gyaltsen Pelsang    15  unknown
Ngawang Keldron     19  5 years    Ngawang Choekyi     21  unknown
Gyaltsen Sangmo     24  3 years    Ngawang Palmo       22  unknown
Ngawang Chendrol    18  3 years    Ngawang Chime       19  unknown
Gyaltsen Kelsang    23  2 years    Ngawang Yangkyi     22  unknown
Rinchen Drolma      23  2 years    Gyaltsen Tsultrim   22  unknown

WE CALL FOR THE IMMEDIATE AND UNCONDITIONAL RELEASE OF THE GARI 14, FOR 
THE RELEASE OF ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS IN TIBET AND FOR INTERNATIONAL 
MONITORING OF THE SITUATION IN TIBET.

The situation in Tibet is urgent.  Human rights abuses continue daily.  
We appeal to you to use all the authority invested in your office to 
help these women.

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Please return by March 28, 1994 to:  RINCHEN PROJECT, c/o International 
Committee of Lawyers for Tibet, 347 Dolores Street, San Francisco, CA  
94110  Phone: 415/252-5967  Fax 415/626-0865  e-mail  iclt@igc.apc.org


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