Appeal for New trial of Tibetan Monk Imprisoned in China
Peter Terpstra
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xMyHmLRQqg
A Tibetan monk named Tenzin Delek Rinpoche has been in prison in Chinas
Sichuan Province for more than seven years. He had been convicted of being a
conspirator in a 2002 bombing, a charge he denies.
Earlier this month, several hundred Tibetans gathered near the city of
Chengdu to protest, calling for a new trial. They say he was convicted
without proper evidence. Reports suggest as many as 90 protestors were
beaten and arrested.
[Tenzin Dorjee, Students for a Free Tibet]:
Among the young Tibetans who got there first, who were arrested and beaten,
many of them have been released but about 20 of them are still being
detained.
Rinpoches work led him to build seven monasteries and a home for orphaned
children. He was also a leading environmental activist. His supporters
believe his numerous activities within the community were what led to
increased scrutiny by the Chinese Communist Party.
[Tenzin Dorjee, Students for a Free Tibet]:
The charges were completely false, and they were just an excuse, an excuse
to imprison this innocent man who was becoming more powerful and influential
because of his good activities.
In April of 2002, after a series of bomb blasts in Chengdu, Rinpoche was
arrested. In a closed trial, he was sentenced to death. But after
international outcry, he got a two-year reprieve, which was later changed to
a life sentence. Rinpoche has always maintained his innocence.
[Tenzin Dorjee, Students for a Free Tibet]:
We want the immediate release of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche period because he
never did anything wrong, he never killed anyone, hes completely innocent,
and I think we know it as well as the Chinese government knows it.
Rinpoches case has gained worldwide support. Both the European Parliament
and U.S. Senate have signed resolutions calling for his release.
Kathryn Shakespear, NTD News, New York.
NTDTV's official YouTube Channel got taken down for some weird reason, so I
thought it would be a good time to upload some of their noteworthy videos
again and it's also to remind you guys that you can actually still find ALL
their programming on their website: http://english.ntdtv.com - So just cause
Google is probably bowing to China again doesn't mean they are gone - go
visit their website, they don't only have news on human rights in China, but
have 24 hour programming with live streaming.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xMyHmLRQqg
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Amnesty International Report 2009 on China:
http://report2009.amnesty.org/en/regions/asia-pacific/china