Another Tibetan prisoner comes out of jail in poor health

Lodoe Gyatso in an undated photo. DHARAMSHALA, May 3: A Tibetan prisoner is reported to be in poor health following his release at the completion of his 21-year prison term. Chinese authorities in Tibet released Lodoe Gyatso, 52, from the notorious Chushul prison near the Tibetan capital city Lhasa on May 2. Ngawang Tharpa, a cousin of Gyatso living in exile, confirmed the report. “Lodoe Gyatso was released yesterday on May 2 after serving 21 years in prison. He is currently in poor health condition due to the injuries sustained during his time in prison,” Tharpa said. Gyatso was initially sentenced to 15 years in prison on murder charges in 1991. On March 4, 1995, while serving his sentence in Drapchi prison, Gyatso had carried out a protest against China’s occupation, calling for Tibet’s independence, the long life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the unity of the Tibetan people. Following his protest, Gyatso was severely tortured for over a month with prison officials pushing for his death sentence. As a result of repeated appeals by the Amnesty International and the United Nations for clemency, Gyatso was spared the capital punishment and sentenced to an additional six years. He was formerly a dance artist and a weight lifting champion from Sog region of Nagchu. Gyatso’s release comes days after reports came of the release of one of Tibet’s longest serving political prisoners Lobsang Tenzin, who has also been described in poor health. Earlier reports had said that Lobsang Tenzin was in a critical condition, suffering from severe diabetes due to which his eyesight had weakened sharply causing blindness at times. Dharamshala based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy earlier today said that Lobsang Tenzin’s release has “done little to gain him any measure of freedom even at his home in Lhasa. The Centre cited sources as saying that Lobsang Tenzin’s home is “heavily guarded and monitored by security personnel and other government officials who continue to turn away visitors” including his relatives and neighbours.