08. Apr 2009
Four sentenced to death trials for Lhasa protests
(TibetanReview.net; Xinhua) Xinhua reported five Tibetans had been sentenced to terms ranging from a life sentence to death without reprieve for arson leading to deaths during the March 2008 protests in Lhasa. Four Tibetans were sentenced to death, two of them with a two-year reprieve, and a fifth Tibetan to life imprisonment. It said more Tibetans were being tried in a fourth fatal arson case. The report claimed that the five Tibetans were given open trials, but this could not be confirmed from any independent source. "The court also provided Tibetan interpreters for the defendants" a spokesman for the Lhasa Municipal Intermediate People's Court said. It was also unclear how long the trials lasted, nor were the trial dates announced in advance. The report only said the five were tried in three separate arson cases and that "the sentences were made at the first instance trial Wednesday (08 April) afternoon". The court spokesman said: "Their lawyers fully voiced their defence. The litigious rights of the defendants were fully safeguarded and their customs and dignity were respected".