Edward Wong
The New York Times
August 13, 2014
A prominent Tibetan environmental activist sentenced to five years in prison on what critics say were trumped-up charges of inciting separatism has been released, according to a report this week on a website run by Tibetan exiles.
Rinchen Samdrup in Lhasa in 2010. The environmentalist, Rinchen Samdrup, who led Tibetans in planting trees and fighting the poaching of animals, was sentenced four years ago for transgressions including posting an article supporting the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, on his website. The image of the Dalai Lama is officially banned by the Chinese government and Communist Party.
Rinchen Samdrup in Lhasa in 2010.Credit Associated Press
But the case against Mr. Rinchen was seen by many critics as based on a political feud — Mr. Rinchen had accused a police officer of poaching in Tibet — and illustrative of how easily some members of China’s ethnic minorities, especially Tibetans and Uighurs, can be wrongly accused of separatism by their enemies.
Mr. Rinchen, who had been held since August 2009, was released on Friday from a prison in Tibet, according to a report posted Monday on Phayul, a news and advocacy website. As part of his sentence, he had also been deprived of his political rights for three years, starting in 2010.
The prison term he had served amounted to the full five-year sentence because Chinese authorities often count the start of the term from the time a suspect is first detained, not necessarily from the time of sentencing, said Kate Saunders, a spokeswoman for the International Campaign for Tibet, an advocacy group.
Two of Mr. Rinchen’s brothers have also gone to prison, on other charges.
His older brother, Karma Samdrup, a wealthy businessman and environmental advocate who collected Tibetan antiquities, is serving a 15-year sentence in the western region of Xinjiang, north of Tibet, on charges of robbing tombs. A younger brother, Jigme Namgyal, was freed after almost two years in prison for “harming national security.”
Mr. Rinchen and Mr. Karma were unlikely prisoners. They had been given awards for their environmental work and for philanthropy by official Chinese organizations and foreign groups, including a major conservation prize from the Ford Motor Company.
Their trials came during a period when officials were detaining or arresting many Tibetan artists and intellectuals. Tensions between Tibetans and Chinese officials have been high in some parts of the Tibetan plateau since 2008, when there was a widespread Tibetan uprising. Since 2009, more than 120 Tibetans have set themselves on fire to protest Chinese rule, and many have died.
The Phayul article said Mr. Rinchen was accused of illegally compiling audiovisual material on the environment and religion in Chamdo, a prefecture in the eastern part of Tibet; possessing propaganda from the Dalai Lama “clique”; and supplying photographs and material for an illegal publication, Forbidden Mountain, Prohibited Hunting.
Mr. Rinchen ran an environmental organization in a county of Chamdo, and led 1,700 villagers in a reforestation drive.
Phayul also reported Monday that another Tibetan prisoner, Jangchup Gyaltsen, had been released from prison in Qinghai Province on July 28. He had served a two-year sentence for taking part in a protest. A photograph showed Mr. Jangchup, a monk, returning to his monastery and being welcomed by his fellow monks with white ceremonial scarves.
Karma Samdrup in Yunnan Province in 2008.Credit Associated Press
On the opening day of his trial in June 2010, Mr. Karma, Mr. Rinchen’s brother, accused guards and security officers of forcing a confession by beating him, depriving him of food and sleep, dousing him with water and generally mistreating him, his wife told The Associated Press.
After Mr. Karma was given a 15-year sentence, his lawyer, Pu Zhiqiang, said the court had “completely ignored the facts, trampled on the legal system and violated Karma’s humanity.” Mr. Pu was himself arrested in June and charged with creating a public disturbance. A well-known human rights lawyer, he had attended a gathering in a Beijing scholar’s home in May to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the pro-democracy demonstrations of 1989.
