Sister of imprisoned Tibetan entrepreneur beaten and tortured by Chinese police

By Tenzin Nyidon

DHARAMSHALA, March 27: Gonpo Kyi, the sister of imprisoned Tibetan businessman Dorje Tashi was reportedly beaten by Chinese police after she was detained last Monday in Lhasa, according to information obtained by Radio Free Asia (RFA). 

Gonpo Kyi is seen in a video showing bruises on her shoulders and upper arms she suffered from the repeated beatings while in detention. Kyi was later released on Tuesday, RFA stated. “While she was pleading with the Chinese authorities to allow relatives to visit her jailed brother, she was tortured and then arrested by the police,” said a source inside Tibet.

In the video, she is also seen talking about a Chinese couple who were imprisoned for 15 years on fraud charges, around the same time her brother was detained. “But the Chinese couple is released after ten years, and it is unfair that my brother, who has already paid off all the money that he was allegedly charged with loan fraud, is still not released. This is illegal and unfair of the corrupt party officials,” she added. 

Kyi’s brother, Dorje Tashi, considered the wealthiest Tibetan entrepreneur, was detained in the wake of the 2008 Pan-Tibetan Uprising in Lhasa on the grounds of making donations to the exiled Tibetan community as his alleged support for the movement, even though these political charges were later cleared. In 2010, the Chinese court sentenced him to life in prison for loan fraud. He has endured torture and other severe punishments since, sources said.

Following her brother’s sentence, Kyi has repeatedly campaigned for her brother’s release along with her other brother, Dorje Tseten who was later sentenced to six years in prison. Earlier this year, Kyi staged a protest outside of the Lhasa Intermediate People’s Court while shouting slogans for wrongfully convicting her brother, following which her conditions and whereabouts remained unknown, according to Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).