Abitrary Detention

China detains two brothers
The brothers from a Tibetan family in Markham County, in Eastern Tibet were whisked way by Chinese police and held for interrogation for months.

According reliable information received from Tibet, “a convoy of police vehicles descended on the house of the two brothers, Tsejor Gonpo (43) alias Zhangxi and his younger brother Choenga Tsering (41, alias Zhongtok) on December 12, 2010, in Markham county, Gagtok city, Chamdo Perfecture in eastern Tibet” .

Peoples armed polices entered their house on the morning of that day, while the family were eating breakfast and demanded the two brothers to accompany them for interrogations. The blaring of siren and police presence attracted a large number of onlookers, who saw the brothers were handcuffed and taken away.



For about a half month, the duo brothers were kept incommunicado, and then lately the family learnt, that the brothers were held in a detention Centre in Pashoe county, under Chamdo prefecture. In prison the two brothers were kept in separate cells and are interrogated individually.


During interrogation, the brothers were accused of the following three things



1 “possession of arms’



2. Speaking with outside



3. Host of Woeser Lama, (an eminent Tibetan lama from India, who visited Tibet)



The brothers responded to the charges in the following way.

That they never possess any arms, nor do they like it and the Chinese were urged to search their homes for any traces of arms/ammunition in their household.

To the allegation that they have contacted outside, the two brothers denied speaking to outside that leaked national security or anything politically sensitive. They urged the Chinese police to produce concrete evidence of their transgression to that effect.

As for hosting Woeser Lama, they responded that Woser lama of their root monastery visited relatives in Tibet with permission of the Chinese government. And his trip was lawful and he did not infringe any rules and regulation of the government” This information was conveyed to the brothers’ mother by an unnamed person.


Ransack shops and other establishment.

Subsequentl ,under the supervision of Chamdo prefecture’s vice deputies of police force in collaboration with Markham county polices, (approximately 40 police personnel), in a convey of ten police vehicles swooped down to search homes and business entities that owed by the two brothers on Jan 22, 2010.



The motel and the disco theatre( Nagma) that the two brothers run in Markham, Gangtok city and their home were ransacked and even kids shoes were thoroughly investigated. The search resulted with the confiscation all video cassettes/ including children’s DVD in their household.



Despite of numerous incidents of blasts and distribution of Free Tibetan pamphlets incidents in the recent past in Markham county, such a scale of thorough search and investigation of the individual homes and establishment were unknown/rare.




Tsering Gonpon (alias Zhangxin) and Chonga Tsering (alias Zhangdou) have several relatives abroad, including their youngest brother Lobsang yeshi , who is a monk at Gyomey monastery in South India, and one of the sons studies at Sera Mey monastery in South India.

The 60 year old mother of the two detained brothers denied her sons of any wrong doing. With tears in her eyes, she said “that her sons have not engaged in any political activities, nor they have ever shown any interest in such, so the charges brought against them were unfounded and baseless. Such false accusation against her sons, including the house search and their arrest by police is an indicative of the Chinese official’s deliberate poke in the eyes of their relatives abroad”.



The two brothers are currently held in Pashoe county, awaiting formal charges, and their fate is still unknown even after one and half months detention.

For detailed informations look up here ...  http://www.rfa.org/english/news/tibet/detain-01272010152433.html