TCHRD calls on China to release climate activist A-nya Sengdra
DHARAMSALA, 18 July: The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) has called for the release of Tibetan climate activist A-nya Sengdra as they declare he continues to “face injustices” as he nears five years since “his arbitrary detention and unjust imprisonment on politically motivated charges” by the Chinese authorities.
“Almost five years after his arbitrary detention and unjust imprisonment on politically motivated charges, prominent Tibetan activist A-nya Sengdra is being subjected to further injustices,” the Dharamsala-based rights group has said.
TCHRD made the remarks after the prominent environment and anti-corruption activist’s lawyer called out the “authorities and staff of the Sixth Circuit Court of the Supreme People’s Court for their unlawful and disgraceful efforts to block Mr Sengdra’s appeal case.”
Condemning the Chinese authorities for their deplorable efforts to block A-nya Sengdra’s appeal case, Tenzin Dawa, executive director of TCHRD has said: “We strongly condemn the unlawful and disgraceful efforts made by the Chinese authorities to block Mr Sengdra’s appeal case. The torture and imprisonment of Mr Sengdra not only violated numerous human rights but also exposed the hollow slogans of President Xi Jinping’s purported commitments to crush official corruption and promote environmental protection.”
She has further called on “the Chinese authorities to release Mr Sengdra and his associates immediately without conditions. It is outrageous that Mr Sengdra and his associates were imprisoned despite confirmation from the Golok Prefecture procuratorate that the cadres and officials accused of corruption were indeed guilty. The guilty officials must be held accountable.”
Narrating the unlawful and unjustifiable treatment he was subjected to when he recently went to appeal Sengdra’s case, Lin Qilei, the Chinese lawyer who is representing Sengdra tweeted
Lin Qilei, the Chinese lawyer who is representing Sengdra has said the authorities and staff of the Sixth Circuit Court of the Supreme People’s Court of treating him unlawfully when he recently went to appeal Sengdra’s case on 10th June, TCHRD has said.
Recounting his experience, the lawyer took to Twitter on 12 July 2023 and wrote wrote “At the reception, I enquired about the progress of the case. But the female staff at the reception told me that there was no such case. When I made further requests, she directed me to a bailiff to whom I showed the “Notice of Refusal of Appeal from the Higher People’s Court of Qinghai Province”. The bailiff then informed me that the court had received the case documents on 6 June 6 this year.”
“He further told me that it takes three months to review [the documents] and asked me to enquire again on 6 September. I repeatedly asked him to provide me with his office phone number, but he said, “Even if there is a phone number, I can’t give it to you.” If this is the attitude of [the staff] at the Supreme Court, how can anyone enquire about the progress of a case without a phone number to contact the office?”
The Tibetan nomad and climate crisis activist from eastern Tibet was arrested in 2018 and arbitrarily held in detention for over 14 months on a politically motivated charge of ‘gathering people to disturb public order.’ He was sentenced to a 7-year prison sentence on 6 Dec. 2019 after he was tried on false charges of “gathering people to disturb public order” when he was simply resisting China’s failed Tibet policies and pressing for environmental protection and end to local authority corruption.
He endured torture from Chinese authorities as he was held for over 14 months without trial simply for campaigning against alleged corruption, illegal mining and illegal hunting and poaching of endangered animals before he was arrested and allegedly beaten on 4 September 2018 in Qinghai province.
