December 31, 2015
Introduction
This report has been produced by Tibet Watch as a tribute to all the Tibetans who have suffered torture as a consequence of their ongoing resistance to the Chinese occupation of Tibet.
In November 2015 China was reviewed by the Committee Against Torture (CAT). China was last reviewed by CAT in 2008, just after the Beijing Olympics Games. The award of the Olympic Games to Beijing was accompanied by numerous promises from both the Chinese government and the International Olympic Committee that the Games would generate greater openness and respect for human rights across China. In reality, security was tightened in many areas, especially Tibet, and 2008 was also the year of a mass Tibetan uprising. This was violently suppressed and previous reports from Tibet Watch and Free Tibet detailed a number of the protest incidents – this included eye-witness reports of security forces opening fire on unarmed civilians, lists of people who were arrested and believed to be at risk of torture and some specific examples of torture.
In December 2014, almost one year before the review, Tibet Watch began preparing the evidence we would later submit to CAT. We decided to work closely with Gu-Chu-Sum, the Tibetan association for former political prisoners, in order to secure the strongest possible evidence.
This report summarises the process of engaging with CAT and details the outcomes we were able to achieve at each stage. It also draws together the key testimonies and reports that we presented to CAT in our various submissions.
The process of gathering testimonies from torture survivors is never easy but there are some specific challenges in Tibetan cases. For the purposes of our engagement with CAT we needed to find evidence of torture that had taken place since the last review in 2008. Many of the protesters who were arrested in 2008 are still in prison and very few of those who have been released have managed to travel into exile. With all the security restrictions that the Chinese government has in place, it is impossible for Tibet Watch researchers to travel into Tibet and speak directly to prisoners or former prisoners. We are reliant on the testimonies of those who have escaped China’s control and are brave enough to speak out. Some fear reprisals against the friends and family they have left behind in Tibet. We have kept the testimonies of these people anonymous and also omitted some details which might identify them or their families.
