Tibetan student arbitrarily jailed by Chinese authorities

Tibetan student arbitrarily jailed by Chinese authorities
Tibet by Esther Lee on Flickr in 2010

30.06.2022

 

Fleur Harmsen

 

Tibet and Human Rights Researcher,

 

Global Human Rights Defence.

 

Nyima, a student in Tibetan culture was sentenced to three years in Karze (Chinese: Ganzi) Prefecture prison for allegedly disseminating state secrets and contacting Tibetans living in exile. However, the Chinese authorities have not shared any details on the type of secrets the student exposed nor the repercussions the latter might have on China’s national sovereignty.

 

Being fluent in English, Chinese and Tibetan, Nyima worked with tourists and visitors prior to his arrest, sharing the history, culture and social life of Tibetans to those who visit the country. The latter made Nyima susceptible to such arrest as his knowledge of Tibetan history and his contact with outsiders was perceived as a threat to Chinese authorities. 

 

Nyima’s arrest falls in line with China’s practices of arbitrary detention of intellectuals, teachers, language advocates, artists, critics and students on charges such as “espionage,” “illegal activities,” and “inciting separatism” going against China’s Sinicization practices across the Tibetan plateau.

 

The jailing of Nyima violates numerous articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, ratified by China. Firstly, article 9 underlines that no one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest. Article 10 protects individual’s right to hold their opinions and to express them freely without governmental intervention. In addition, article 27 explains that everyone has the right to participate in the cultural life of the community in the way that individual pleases to do so. 

 

China, through arbitrarily arresting Nyima for participating in the cultural life of the Tibetan community and through expressing his knowledge on Tibetan cultural life, has violated article 9, 10 and 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, failing thus to comply with the international human rights system.

 

 

Sources and further reading: 

 

Dharamshala, L. C. (2022, June 29). China sentences Tibetan student for 3 years on espionage charges. Phayul Newsdesk. Retrieved June 30th, 2022 from: https://www.phayul.com/2022/06/30/47285/

 

Tibetan Review. (2022, June 29). China jails Tibetan university student for contact with exile fellows.Retrieved June 30th, 2022 from: https://www.tibetanreview.net/china-jails-tibetan-university-student-for-contact-with-exile-fellows/