More than 1.000 Tibetans detained during protests against the Chinese government in March remain unaccounted for, Amnesty International says.
In a report to be released Thursday, the human rights group said it has received information that detainees had been beaten with iron bars (jernstænger) and deprived of food, writes BBC online Wednesday.
Ahead of the Olympic torch relay through Tibet, Amnesty asked China to “shine some light” on the situation. China says rioters killed at least 19 people. Tibetan exiles say security forces killed dozens of people.
The anti-China protests led by Buddhist monks – the worst in the region in 20 years – began in Lhasa on 10 March. The Himalayan country has been occupied by China since 1950.
Amnesty International said the information coming out of Tibet painted “a dire picture of arbitrary detentions and abuse of detainees”. Official reports only provide information on a small number of those who have been sentenced after questionable trials.
Amnesty noted that, with foreign journalists still not allowed into Tibet, reports coming through friends and family members to the media and Tibetan organisations suggested that police had carried out hundreds of raids on monasteries, nunneries and private homes.
“Those who dare to find ways of sending information to foreign media or human rights organisations regarding protests and arrests, risk arrest and imprisonment,” Amnesty said.
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