Tibet’s longest serving female political prisoner, Buddhist nun, Ngawang Sangdrol was first arrested in 1987, when she was only ten years old. She is currently being held in Tibet’s notorious Drapchi prison where her sentence has been extended three times. She is now serving a 23 year term for “offences” such as shouting “Free Tibet”, recording independence songs and taking part in a prisoner protest in Drapchi in May 1998. Ngawang Sangdrol is due to be released in November 2011 at the age of 34. The UN has ruled that Ngawang’s is a case of arbitrary detention because she is being punished for exercising her right to freedom of opinion.

Arrests
Born in 1977, Ngawang is from Garu Nunnery on the outskirts of Lhasa. She was first arrested in 1987 when she participated in demonstrations. She was 10 at the time and was detained for 15 days. Three years later, in August 1990 she and fellow nuns attended a pro-independence demonstration outside the Dalai Lama’s former summer palace in Lhasa. She was arrested again and - despite being only 13 - was sentenced to nine months. According to reports, Ngawang was beaten so severely while in custody that her hands are permanently damaged.

On her release, Ngawang was forbidden to rejoin her nunnery and she returned to Lhasa to find that her mother had died and her father was in prison for a political offence. She continued to live in Lhasa and was arrested again in June 1992 after attempting to stage a demonstration together with another nun and three monks. She was sentenced to 3 years for “subversive and separatist” activities.

Reports from Tibetans in exile suggest she has suffered various forms of torture including deprivation of water for long periods. Ngawang and other nuns have been subjected to severe torture and solitary confinement at Drapchi. One former cell mate described her physical state: “because of so many beatings, her head and body are all damaged”. Apparently Ngawang herself does not believe that she will survive detention.

Sentence Extended
In 1993, Ngawang and 13 other nuns recorded songs about their love for their families and their homeland in their cells. The tape was smuggled out of the prison and as a result, Ngawang had her sentence extended by six years. Other nuns in the group also received extensions to their sentences, and all were severely beaten as a punishment for their actions.

Ngawang received her second sentence extension in 1996 following her participation in several incidents of dissent in Drapchi. She was among a number of female political prisoners who protested about China’s official Panchen Lama candidate during meetings initiated by the Drapchi authorities. Ngawang also refused to stand up when a prison officer entered her cell, and shouted “Free Tibet” when she and other women were made to stand in the rain as a punishment for refusing to keep their cells clean. Her sentence was extended for a second time for nine years.

Ngawang Sandrol’s third sentence extension was handed down by the Lhasa Municipal Intermediate People’s Court in October 1998. It appears to be a result of her involvement in protests in May 1998 at Drapchi prison linked to the visit of a European Union ambassadorial delegation, and in other protests later that year. She was severely beaten as punishment for shouting slogans in support of independence and the Dalai Lama in July and then again a month or two later. A source told TIN that Ngawang Sangdrol was “kicked and beaten and they [prison guards] stamped on her head” after she shouted the slogans in late 1998 at Drapchi prison.

Drapchi Protest
Friends and relatives were reportedly prevented from visiting Nawang Sangdrol in prison following the demonstrations in Drapchi. There were two days of protests on 1 and 4 May 1998. During these incidents, both criminal and political prisoners shouted slogans in support of the Dalai Lama and Tibetan independence while meetings were being held to mark the visit of the EU delegation. The 4 May protest coincided with the visit to Drapchi of the EU ambassadors, although it is still not clear whether the protest took place before or after their visit. Prison officials had selected representatives from different units, including more than 60 monks, to attend a meeting on this date when prisoners started shouting “Free Tibet” slogans. Reports suggest, political prisoners being held in cells nearby joined in with the shouting. Prison officials retaliated by beating those involved and placeing them in solitary confinement cells. Ten people, including six nuns and three monks, reportedly died following torture and beatings at the prison. This incident resulted in Ngawang’s third sentence extension.

Fears for Health and Safety
Ngawang Sandrol and several other political prisoners received particularly severe beatings, according to reliable reports, suggesting that she may have been considered a ring-leader of the demonstrations. When other prisoners were once again allowed to receive visitors in the prison in July 1998, Ngawang Sandrol and a few other key political prisoners continued to be denied visits and were not allowed to receive any gifts, such as food and clothing, from relatives. Numerous reports have reached TIN that Ngawang Sandrol has continued to receive harsh beatings, was kept in solitary confinement on a restricted diet for at least one period of two months in 1996 and may at present be in solitary confinement. Ngawang Sangdrol is reportedly in poor physical condition owing to maltreatments during her detention. Chinese authorities state that Ngawang Sandrol is in “normal health” despite her punishment for engaging in “separatist activities”.

Sentence Illegal
Ngawang Sandrol has received the longest total sentence of any female political prisoner in Tibet. Information about her sentence passed on to Western governments by the Chinese authorities continues to be contradictory - the information Beijing has given about the length of her various sentence extensions and release date to various Western governments during the process of human rights dialogue is inconsistent.

According to the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), the latest extension of Ngawang Sandrol’s sentence is illegal under Chinese law, because Article 69 of the Chinese Penal Code stipulates that the maximum sentence of fixed-term imprisonment cannot exceed 20 years. TCHRD also says that the Chinese authorities have violated Article 17 of the Chinese Penal Code, which states that minors below the age of 16 will not be held responsible for their infraction. Ngawang Sandrol was only 15 when she was arrested and sentenced in 1992.

According to Amnesty International, Ngawang Sandrol’s imprisonment and ill treatment violate Articles 5 and 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Article 5 prohibits torture, while Article 18 guarantees the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.

Ngawang’s health and well-being remain a serious concern. A long-term kidney problem is believed to have been treated only at the prison clinic.

TIN reported in June 2002, that the Chinese authorities stated that Ngawang Sangdrol has had her sentence reduced by one and a half years as she showed “signs of repentance last year”.

This indicates that the Chinese authorities are striving to show increased leniency towards this high-profile political prisoner, although their basic hardline policy towards dissent remains the same. The sentence reduction means that she will now be released on 3 November 2011, according to information received by TIN. Western governments are still calling for Ngawang Sangdrol’s release.

Sources: Tibet Information Network, Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, Amnesty International