Release Tenzin Delek Now!
In April 2012 Tenzin Delek Rinpoche will have been in detention for ten years. He is known to be in very poor health, believed to be linked to the torture he endured after his arrest.
Originally sentenced to death in 2002, commuted to life in 2004, Tenzin Delek Rinpoche has remained constantly vocal about his innocence. No evidence has been found against him.
In 2003 a voice recording of Tenzin Delek talking about his innocence was smuggled out and released. In it he said:
“I am a Tibetan, I have always been sincere and devoted to the interests and well-being of Tibetan people. That is the real reason why the Chinese do not like me and framed me. That is why they are going to take my precious life even though I am innocent.”
TAKE ACTION: Send an urgent action to the Chinese government calling for his immediate release
PLEASE TAKE ACTION!
Heroes Blog
Lessons Learned:
Remembering Lobsang Dhondup, Taking Action to Free Tenzin Delek
by Lhadon Tethong
I was attending the World Social Forum in Brazil when the Chinese government executed Lobsang Dhondup and sentenced Tenzin Delek Rinpoche to death. I was checking my email in a small cybercafe in Porto Alegre, surrounded by activists from across the globe, when I heard the news. At first, I just sat there. Stunned. Moments later, I couldn’t fight it back, and I wept. Then, I resolved to fight. It was a defining moment for me as a young Tibetan activist.
Up until that moment, I had somehow been convinced that the Chinese wouldn’t go through with it.They hadn’t dared to execute a Tibetan in such an overtly political and high-profile way for nearly 20 years, not to mention the incredible amount of unwanted attention and government pressure the Chinese were facing as a result of the global outcry and campaign in support of the two men. I was sure it was helping. Unfortunately, I was wrong.
