China sentences 12 more over Tibet riots; frees another 1,157

Raghavendra

Beijing, June 21 (PTI) China has handed down punishment
to an additional 12 people over the deadly anti-government
riots in the Tibetan capital Lhasa in March and released 1,157
others detained for minor offences.
Courts in Tibet sentenced 12 people on Thursday and
Friday convicting them of arson and robbery and for the "crime
of gathering to assault the state organs" and other crimes,
state media said without specifying the sentences.
The courts had jailed 30 people in April for their
alleged role in the riots for terms ranging from three years
to life.
Riots, which left at least 21 people dead, broke out in
Lhasa on March 14 during the observance of the anniversary to
mark the failed uprising against Chinese rule in 1959, when
the Dalai Lama fled to India.
Tibet police took into custody 953 people after the riots
while 362 surrendered, the Tibet Autonomous Region's Executive
Vice-Chairman Palma Trily said in Lhasa on Friday, a day ahead
of the Olympic torch relay in Lhasa.
Another 116 persons in custody were awaiting trial, Palma
was quoted as saying by state-run Xinhua news agency.
He said judicial authorities followed the policy of
combining punishment with leniency in handling the cases,
which meant leniency for those with minor offences.
The Tibetan senior official's revelation comes two days
after the human rights group Amnesty International said in a
report that China was holding more than 1,000 Tibetans without
charges.
China has blamed the Dalai Lama for "masterminding" the
riots, the most serious in two decades which rattled the
Communist leadership, but the Tibetan leader has vehemently
denied his role.
After international pressure following the Tibet unrest,
Chinese government held one round of fence-mending talks with
representatives of the Dalai Lama. The dates for next round of
talks are yet to be announced.
Palma also said that Tibet would reopen to foreign
tourists soon but added that it would not occur immediately
after the Olympic torch relay. He did not give a specific
date.
Travel agencies in Tibet stopped receiving tourists after
the Lhasa riots citing safety concerns. The tourism market
reopened to domestic tourists in late April and to tourists
from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan on May 1.