FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:; 07th May, 2008

Tibetan Youth Congress Strongly Condemns the Unfair and Unlawful Trial of 30 Tibetans by China

 Dharamshala: On 29 April, 2008 the Intermediate People's Court in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), handed down prison sentences to 30 Tibetans who had taken part in peaceful protests since 10 March, 2008. The sentences range from three years to life in prison.

International law requires an arrested suspect to be charged with a recognised offence and given a fair trial, and anybody arrested for expressing their opinions and participating in peaceful demonstrations should be considered arbitrarily detained. A fair trial includes the right to legal representation, the right to be presumed innocent, the right to have adequate time to prepare a defence and the right to be heard in public. The speedy one-day trial proceedings in Lhasa were held in secret and did not conform with even the most basic standards of international justice.

The unjust and harsh sentencing of the 30 Tibetans is also being used to create an atmosphere of fear within Tibet. By widely publicizing the excessive punishment received by the protesters, the Chinese government is further suppressing and terrorizing the Tibetan population by inflicting mental torture.

We strongly condemn the denial of fair trials and justice to our fellow Tibetans who have no effective conventional means to address their long held grievances under Chinese rule. The present trial proceedings also raise the possibility that many more Tibetans presently in detention will face unfair and harsher punishment, and possibly execution.

Allegations of any and all violations of prisoner rights, especially torture and ill-treatment should be immediately investigated by independent and impartial experts such as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Freedom of Opinion and ex-pression, the Special Rapporteur against Torture, the Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions or the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention. Immediate access of representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and other international humanitarian organisations to the prisoners should be ensured.

We urge the People's Court to respect the constitutional rights of these Tibetans under the present Chinese regime, and grant them the rights to which they are entitled under international law.

In relation to the 30 Tibetans and all Tibetans arrested since the 10th March 2008, TYC calls on the People's Court and the Chinese Government to:

·   Unconditionally release all the Tibetans

·   Provide prisoners with a fair trial and access to competent and impartial defence counsel

. Treat all prisoners humanely for the duration of their detention

·   Ensure that information obtained through torture and under duress is excluded as evidence

·   Allow family members, journalists and independent observers to attend all court proceedings

·   Commence a full and fair inquiry into the circumstances of their arrest.

·  Allow all court trials and proceedings to be conducted in Tibetan language.

Tibetan Youth Congress is a worldwide organization of Tibetans, united in our common struggle for the restoration of complete independence for the whole of Tibet

Issued by: The Office of Tibetan Youth Congress (Centrex)