07. Dec 2009
Kardze nun protestor dies in custody
(TCHRD; Tibet.net) A Tibetan nun, Yangkyi Dolma, from Kardze (Chin: Ganzi) who was arrested on 24 March 2009 died on 06 December at Chengdu hospital, according to information received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD). On 24 August, six months after her arrest, the Kardze county security forces handed over Yangkyi Dolma to Kardze Intermediate People's Court, however, there is no information on whether she was formally tried by the court or not. Yangkyi Dolma and another nun, Sonam Yangchen of Lamdrag, (earlier reported as Dragkar) nunnery in Kardze county, Kardze TAP, Sichuan Province, staged a protest at the Kardze main market square on 24 March 2009. The protest involved the nuns shouting slogans calling for the "swift return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet"; "human rights for Tibetans in Tibet"; and "religious freedom in Tibet" and handing out pamphlets. Both nuns were severely beaten by the security forces at the scene of the demonstration. The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) in Dharamsala attributed her death "to severe torture by the prison guards”. According to TCHRD, no post mortem has been held.