Lin also spoke about Anya\u2019s health condition, saying that he has high\n blood pressure and the medical treatment given to him in the detention \ncenter has not been effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/savetibet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/anya-sengdra.jpg\")
The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) calls for the immediate \nrelease of Anya Sengdra, as he has been detained solely for peacefully \ncampaigning against corruption and expressing criticism with regard to \ngovernment policies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anti-corruption campaigns<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Anya Sengdra has been a staunch campaigner against government \ncorruption since at least 2014, when he and other local Tibetan nomads \nfounded a voluntary organization called \u201cMangdon Ling\u201d (\u201cPublic Affairs \nForum\u201d) to fight against local authorities\u2019 abuse of power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He criticized local officials for siphoning off and misusing public \nmoney, notably from relocated nomads, and ran campaigns against illegal \nmining activities and the hunting and poaching of endangered animals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following his arrest on Sept. 4, 2018, Anya Sengdra was beaten and \nheld without access to a lawyer for his first 48 days in detention. His \nwife and other family members were not permitted to see him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), an NGO based in the Tibetan exile capital of Dharamsala, India, described Anya Sengdra as a \u201cshadow of his former self\u201d because of the way his health and physique have deteriorated in prison.[1]<\/sup> In the weeks following his arrest, nine other Tibetans from Golog were also detained, and eight have also been sentenced in recent weeks. <\/p>\n\n\n\n On Nov. 20, Lin posted on social media: \u201cIn September 2018 as Anya \nSengdra\u2019s defender I got involved in an investigation by the Public \nSecurity Bureau of Gade County into a suspected case of provoking \ntroubles. Anya Sengdra had been dissatisfied for years and accused the \nlocal government of violations, and led more than 200 Tibetans in suing \nthe Provincial Discipline Inspection Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhile the Gade County Procuratorate was reviewing and prosecuting \nthe case, I was told that the case had been changed to involve evil. On \nOct. 15, 2019, Gade County Court held a three and a half day pre-trial \nmeeting, and then on the afternoon of November 18, 2019, a case officer \nat the Gade County Public Security Bureau named Dorje Tsering gave me a \ncall from 15597572320. I rejected a request to take notes, but then this\n person called again and told me that Anya Sengdra was suspected of \nfraud and that the charges hadn\u2019t been brought to court by the \nprosecutor. He asked me about the details of the case, but I refused on \nthe grounds of \u201cdefenders can\u2019t testify against parties.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOut of the 10 accused during the pre-trial meeting, only my client, \nAnya Sengdra, refused to plead guilty. Our two defenders are also \npleading not guilty, and it is our consideration that this case does not\n involve evil. Accordingly, I don\u2019t know what so-called evidence the \nGade County Public Security Bureau is asking for. This is my record of \nthis critical moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lin also shared the news of Anya Sengdra\u2019s sentencing on Dec. 6 in a social media post.[2]<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Lin<\/a>,\n Anya Sengdra was accused of \u201cthe crimes of provoking troubles, forming a\n mob to disturb social order, and other evil cases.\u201d \u201cProvoking trouble\u201d\n is a vaguely worded offence under Article 293 of Chinese Criminal Law \nthat has been increasingly used in recent years to persecute and launch \nreprisals against human rights defenders and other activists critical of\n government policies and practices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In sentencing Anya Sengdra, the court apparently invoked the Chinese government\u2019s politically motivated campaign against \u201cblack\u201d and \u201cevil forces.\u201d While this is a nationwide campaign, it has been intensified in Tibet with a strong emphasis on cracking down on \u201cseparatism in the name of religion\u201d and loyalty to the Dalai Lama.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Sept. 8, 2018, four days after his arrest, Anya Sengdra\u2019s wife \nYangkyi wrote a petition to authorities accusing the Gade county \ngovernment of making baseless charges against her husband, whom she \ndescribed as a law-abiding citizen, and describing the arrest as a \nreprisal for his activities to defend the rights of local Tibetan \nnomads. In her petition, she explained that over the years, local \nauthorities had introduced numerous welfare schemes to rehabilitate and \ncompensate for the forced relocation and settlement of nomads such as \ngrassland and forestry subsidies, low-income household benefits and \nother poverty alleviation schemes, but that much of the relief funds never reached the targeted beneficiaries<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anya Sengdra\u2014who was a leader in his hometown of Kyangche (Chinese: \nJiangqian), Gongmey (Xiazangke) and also Ganglung (Ganglong) in Gade \nCounty, Golog\u2014and 10 other members of the \u201cPublic Affairs Forum\u201d filed a petition<\/a>\n in 2014 calling for an investigation into the activities of Gade County\n authorities in their home area, listing seven issues related to the \nmismanagement of public funds meant for the local nomads, including the \nquestion: \u201cWhy are there no housing facilities for relocated nomads in \nKyangche Township? The County government used poverty alleviation funds \nworth 18,000,000 yuan to buy a 720 sq. ft. shopping complex, which has \nnot been handed over to the poor. Why was housing subsidy for nomads \ndiscontinued? The issue of government compensation for grassland and \nforestry [seized from nomads].\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In three petitions calling for his release<\/a>\n published by the TCHRD, local Tibetans pointed out that many of the \nissues raised by Anya Sengdra during his appeals to higher authorities \nhave been resolved since his detention. For instance, residents of one \ntownship reported in their petition that after his arrest, local \nauthorities began paying housing subsidies and minimum livelihood \nallowances to local people. Other residents began receiving compensation\n for appropriated grassland and forest after Anya Sengdra launched his \ncampaign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All the petitions, which were signed by citizens in Kyangche, called \nfor Anya Sengdra\u2019s immediate release with some specifically mentioning \nChinese Chairman Xi Jinping\u2019s slogans on eliminating corruption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anya Sengdra\u2019s brother Jimtri, who was arrested on Dec. 16, 2018, was\n also due to stand trial on the same day after spending almost a year in\n detention. According to new reports, Jimtri died in November or \nDecember after being taken from his detention center to the hospital. No\n further information is known about the circumstances of his death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The petition from Gongmey township, translated by TCHRD, stated:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTo the Golok Prefecture People\u2019s Procuratorate and Other Relevant Offices<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anya Sengdra has been detained for [appealing for] the wellbeing of \nthe ordinary masses and not for any personal reasons. He stood up in \nsupport of the livelihood of the ordinary people, the law of the Chinese\n Communist Party, and Comrade Xi Jinping\u2019s legal system. He had no \npolitical intentions and has never done or said anything to protest \nagainst the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since his arrest, our collective mind has not been put to rest. The \nreason is he was arrested for [supporting] the people. Since his arrest,\n the government has provided to the people numerous [facilities] that he\n had demanded. For instance, earlier poor households had to pay 10000 \nyuan per house to the government. Moreover, they had no choice but to \nbuild their houses on the plot selected by the government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These days, all poor households in Gongmey Township have been \nprovided about 50 houses and no one had to pay anything. Also the masses\n now have the right to build their houses wherever they like. And with \nmuch haste, the government has provided money to repair houses and \nminimum livelihood compensation. The masses know that it was Anya \nSengdra who made all this possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The petition letter from Kyangche Township stated simply: \u201cAnya \nSengdra is highly respected in Kyangche Township. He only appealed on \nbehalf of the ordinary masses demanding the payment of various funds \nsuch as housing funds for the local people. Therefore, we urge that he \nis not subjected to torture and beatings and that he is released from \ndetention at the earliest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Footnotes:<\/strong> Tibetan nomad and community leader Anya Sengdra, who fought corruption and stood up for poor local people, will appeal the seven-year prison sentence he was given earlier this month, according to his lawyer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":12372,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"categorie":[45,691],"news_tag":[673],"class_list":["post-12371","nieuws","type-nieuws","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","categorie-inside-tibet","categorie-news","news_tag-repression"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLawyer\u2019s tweets<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/savetibet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/Anya-Sengdra-lawyer-tweet11192019.jpg\")
Standing up for the poor<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/savetibet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/anya-sengdra-2.jpg\")
Petition<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
[1]<\/strong> \u201cChina Detains Tibetan Anti-Corruption Activist on Politicised Charge of Provoking Trouble,\u201d Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy<\/em>, https:\/\/tchrd.org\/china-detains-tibetan-anti-corruption-activist-on-politicised-charge-of-provoking-trouble\/<\/a>. When Anya Sengdra\u2019s lawyer Lin Qilei managed to see him more than a month after his initial detention in October, 2018, he said that he was in very poor health and had lost a lot of weight.
[2]<\/strong> \u201cTibetan Nomad And Environmental Activist Sentenced To Seven Years In Prison,\u201d International Tibet Network<\/em>, https:\/\/tibetnetwork.org\/tibetan-nomad-and-environment-activist-sentenced-to-seven-years-in-prison\/<\/a>. The names of the nine other Tibetans detained are as follows: Sothor, Asho, Dosang, Wanggyal, Gyaltsen, Abhi, Ugen Tsering, Wanchen and Jimtri, who was Anya Sengdra\u2019s brother.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"