In 1996, my prison term was extended for another eight years after I was accused of demonstrating inside prison. In 1998 my sentence was extended a third time, by another six years, after some of us were accused of being involved in a protest demonstrations. This brought my total sentence to 21 years.

Right from the first time I was detained, Chinese officials used different torture instruments on me to break my spirit. I was subjected to both physical and mental torture to make me denounce His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the aspirations of my people. My fellow political prisoners and I were subjected to electric shocks from different types of electric batons and prods on sensitive body parts such as my mouth, underarms and palms of hands. We were beaten with pipes, canes and sticks of different sizes, thick leather belts with heavy metal buckles, and by the hands and feet of prison guards who were trained in martial arts. Other nuns and I were hung in the air with our arms tied behind our back for extended periods of time, and we were frequently made to stand in the direct sun or freezing cold for extended periods of time, and if we collapsed from the heat or exhaustion, we were beaten. We were made to race each other in competitions for the entertainment of the guards, during which they threw rocks at us and hit us if we ran too slow or got the words wrong to the Chinese songs we were forced to sing. I spent weeks in solitary confinement for refusing to accept the lies and punishments of my captors. This torture and mistreatment started while I was just a child of 13 and continued through most of my life in prison.

During my imprisonment in 1992, I witnessed all my fellow Tibetan political prisoners being tortured as well. In 1996 when Phuntsok Pema and I were placed in a small cell, we learnt that prisoners in Unit Five, including Ngawang Phulchung, were tortured solely because they appealed to higher officials after the death of one prisoner who died as a result of torture.

Although the Chinese claim that Tibetans have religious freedom, the State Department report documents that this is not true. This is not true. At any time, you are liable to be persecuted for practicing religion and for having faith in your spiritual teacher, and we are unable to honour our leader, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, with prayers for his long life or by making certain religious practices that he encourages. I was very sad to see in the State Department report that in Kham, in eastern Tibet, the authorities have cracked down on centers of Tibetan culture and religion that had been able somehow to escape the strict measures in place in most of Tibet. As the authorities continue to use all the means at their disposal to attack Tibetan Buddhism, our precious and unique culture is at growing risk every day.

You would not be surprised to learn that the situation is worse in the prisons, where there are no rights at all. There have been cases of people who have been persecuted solely for reciting prayers, as it is not permitted for prisoners to practice religion. At one time, while in Drapchi prison, five nuns of Shugseb Nunnery — Palden Choedak, Jigme Yangchen, Woeser Choekyi, Yangzom, and Chime Dekyi — were reciting the Mani prayer on home-made prayer beads made of flour dough. Upon seeing this, prison officials immediately beat these nuns, made them run in the courtyard, threw stones at them to make them run faster and, to complete the humiliation, they made the nuns eat the prayer beads.