06. Jan 2010
Six years for Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen
(Tibet.net) The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) in Dharamsala has announced that the Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen has been sentenced to six years in prison. The sentence was pronounced on 28 December 2009, according to the report, but it is not known where he was tried. Dhondup Wangchen, and his assistant Golok Jigme or Jigme Gyatso, were arrested by the Chinese authorities on 23 March 2008 while making the film "Leaving Fear Behind" in Tibet. Jigme Gyatso was released on bail seven months later saying he had been tortured in detention. Wangchen's lawyer, Li Dunyong reported that his client had also been tortured in order to extract a confession and that some of the injuries he sustained as a result were still painful a year later. Wangchen has been suffering from hepatitis B, for which he said he has been denied adequate medical treatment