Inhumane treatment of political prisoners in China

31.1.2011

Question for written answer E-000997/2011
to the Commission
Rule 117
Konrad Szymański (ECR) and Sidonia Elżbieta Jędrzejewska (PPE)

Jigme Gyatso, a 45-year-old former Buddhist monk from Tibet, is currently serving an 18-year sentence in a Chinese prison for participating in peaceful political activities.

The latest information obtained by the International Campaign for Tibet on 4 January and by the Central Tibetan Administration on 30 December 2010 was that he was in very bad health and there were fears for his life as a result of the vicious torture suffered by the prisoners, the latter confirmed in a report by the Special Rapporteur of the UN Commission for Human Rights after a visit to Chushul prison on 27 November 2005. According to the most recent information, Jigme Gyatso has also been deprived of the right to meet his family and has been kept isolated from the other prisoners.

What measures does the Commission, as a representative of the Human Rights Troika with China, intend to take in the matter of Jigme Gyatso?

Does the Commission intend to ask the Special United Nations Rapporteur on Torture to investigate the state of Jigme Gyatso’s health?

What resources and aid programmes are available to the Commission in order to improve the situation of the persecuted Tibetan minority in China?

OJ C 286 E, 30/09/2011