Rights Group: Authorities in Tibet openly threaten those who circulate information with “torture”

[ellisonz]

Published on Thursday 29 March 2012.

Reporters Without Borders is outraged by the policy of terror openly pursued by the Chinese authorities in Gan Lho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (甘南藏族自治州 ) in the northwestern province of Gansu, where the police have posted notices in public places in which “criminals” who circulate certain views and information are threatened with “beating” and “torture” (རྡུང་རྡེག ).

The existence of the notices was revealed by Tibet Post International, a Tibetan news website based in Dharamsala, in northern India. The site operates under the aegis of the Himalayan Literacy Trust, a Reporters Without Borders partner organization.

“The aim of these torture threats is to instil terror in all those who might circulate information about the government’s repressive policies,” Reporters Without Borders said. “By posting warnings of physical reprisals, the Public Security Bureau is directly violating article 2 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which China has signed. This article says that ‘An order from (...) a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture.’

“We call on the UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Juan Mendez, to open an investigation based on this notice published by the Chinese authorities and to condemn their use of such threats. The police must immediately withdraw these posters and stop legitimizing the use of torture and physical mistreatment for criminal actions that are deliberately defined in vague, loose terms open to broad interpretation.”

More from Reporters Without Borders: http://en.rsf.org/chine-authorities-openly-threaten-those-29-03-2012,42216.html

It's not that horrid things aren't happening in Tibet, what is happening is simply that the PRC is succeeding in locking out reporters and intimidating dissidents.

[Quantess]

1. Awful.

But at least we have the internet to more easily disseminate information about fascism around the world. This sort of thing is not new, but light shines on it more quickly nowadays.

[ellisonz]

4. If only it would get as much light as Octomom!

massive

[Wait Wut]

2. Thank you for bringing this here.

I hadn't heard anything about it. I wish I had something to add, but I'm dumbfounded. Not shocked.

[ellisonz]

3. You are welcome.

In one of their previous reports they noted that it was easier to report from Pyongyang than from Lhasa.

[Quantess]

5. kick

[Kevinfeng]

6. Spam deleted by cbayer (MIR Team)