Free Wangdu from chinese prison and torture

A public health worker, 41-year-old Wangdu was sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2008 for sending email to the outside world. It is the harshest sentence known to have been handed out for such seemingly innocuous activity.

Wangdu was charged with 'espionage' by Lhasa City's intermediate people's court, the allegation being that the information he had sent about the situation on the crackdowns he had witnessed on Tibetan protesters amounted to 'providing intellegence' to the so-called 'Dalai Clique'; the term used in Chinese Government propaganda to convince the Chinese population that the Dalai Lama has a hidden agenda of attempting to split China by controling protests within Tibet.
Three other Tibteans were sentenced from 10 to 15 years on similar charges.

Wangdu worked on an HIV/AIDS prevention project for the much respected Australian Burnet medical research institute, and had been working to promote AIDS awareness in Tibet since 2001. Fellow detainee Migmar Dhondup also worked for a Non Government Organisation, specialising in conservationist projects. The arrest of two NGO workers underlines the difficulties faced by non-profit organisations and charities which seek to work within Tibet and china. Migmar Dhondup received a 14 year sentence, also for 'espionage'. The defendants admitted the charges, but as with many cases in Tibet, it has been suggested that violent techniques were used to secure confessions.
 

Once a monk in Jokhang monastery, Wangdu is originally from Dechen Township in Takse County near Lhasa, and had spent 8 years in prison after being arrested in 1989, following the protests which took place in Lhasa that year. His sentence had been extended after he joined other prisoners in signing a petition condemning as unlawful the agreement which Tibetans were forced to sign during the chinese invasion. His current detention began oon 14 March 2008. His detention on the grounds that he was passing information to outside forces is a common one which carries harsh sentences.

The chinese Government often seeks to lay blame for protests in Tibet on 'external forces' in order to paint a picture of unity within the country, claiming that those who demand human rights and freedoms are merely being manipulated by those on the outside whom it claims are attempting to subvert the Chinese state. Such a campaign has been waged against the Dalai Lama for decades, and a similar approach is used in reference to Uighur spokeswoman Rebiya Kadeer.(You can read more about china's anti-Dalai Lama campaign here)

Phuntsog Dorjee and Tsewang Dorjee, who were accused of helping Wandu send information out of Tibet, were given 9 and 8 year sentences respectively, and three others were charged with crimes relating to their own contact with NGOs. The state reported that Sonam Tseten was sentenced to 10 year for 'illegally sending intellegence abroad', Yeshi Choedon to 15 years for her alleged role in 'providing intellegence to the Dalai Clique's security department' and Sonam Dakpa to 10 years for 'being a member of the Tibetan Youth Congress and sending information abroad'. The Dalai Lama has invited chinese investigators to search his offices in India to demonstrate that he has no part in orchestrating protests within Tibet, and the India-based Tibetan Youth Congress is continually labelled a 'terrorist' organisation by the chinese Government despite no evidence of such activities being provided.

As computer access and expertise grows in restive regions, china is increasingly desperate to control information access and prevent Tibetans and other dissident groups from using the technology to circumvent Government propaganda and share their experiences with the outside world. china not only places Tibet under military lockdown during sensitive periods, but also seeks to control phone access and the internet. Wangdu's sentence is a clear indication that china wishes to ensure that Tibetans feel intimidated about using such technology, as it can help reveal the true nature of china's rule over Tibet as it did in spring 2008.
(You can read more about internet censorship in china and Tibet here)

The whereabouts of Wangdu and the other prisoners is currently unknown, and there are serious fears for their safety in a prison system in which the United Nations states that torture is both 'widespread' and 'routine' despite being contrary to 'chinese law'. Wangdu's case arose at a similar time to other cases surrounding Tibetans using the internet to share their ideas and experiences, such as the cases of Norzin Wangmo and Jamyang Kyi.