A Chinese court has convicted a Tibetan for subverting state authority by calling for the return of Tibet’s spiritual leader in exile, the Dalai Lama, a human rights monitor said Monday.
Runggye Adak, 53, was found guilty at the Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture Intermediate People’s Court on Oct. 23, the Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said in a statement.During an Aug. 1 ceremony in Litang County of Sichuan Province held to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the People’s Liberation Army, Adak grabbed a microphone on the stage and called on people to support the return of the Dalai Lama, the Hong Kong-based center said. Adak was arrested immediately.His arrest led to a clash between about 1,000 local Tibetans and hundreds of police officers in Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of the western province. More than 10,000 Tibetans worldwide staged protests and hunger strikes seeking his release, the group said.The center quoted an unnamed official at the court as saying a supervisor responsible for the case will announce the sentence next week. It also said only government-assigned lawyers were allowed to represent Adak during his trial.Adak’s nephew Adak Lopoe, who is said to be the mastermind behind the incident, was also prosecuted in September for “inciting to subvert state power,” the center said earlier.The Dalai Lama, winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize, has been living in exile in India since a failed Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule in 1959. China occupied Tibet in 1951.Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
