Tenzin Delek Rinpoche
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Lithang Tulku Tenzin Delek Rinpoche or Tenzing Deleg (Template:Bo-tw) (1950–2015) was a Tibetan Buddhist leader from Garze, Sichuan. He is also known for working to develop social, medical, educational and religious institutions for Tibetan nomads in eastern Tibet, as an advocate for environmental conservation in the face of indiscriminate logging and mining projects, and as a mediator between Tibetans and Chinese.<ref name="FreeTibetanHeroes-PetitionTenzing">Free Tibetan Heroes: Tenzin Delek Rinpoche International Tibet Network.</ref>
Personal life
Rinpoche was born in Lithang, Tibet.
On 7 April 2002 he was arrested during a raid on Jamyang Choekhorling in Garze, Sichuan, China, and accused of being involved in a bomb attack on 3 April 2002 on the central square of Sichuan's provincial capital, Chengdu.<ref>Tibetan Monk: Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche International Society for Human Rights. Template:Webarchive</ref><ref>Miscarriage of Justice? The trial of Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche and related arrests Amnesty International, 30 September 2009.</ref>
He was convicted for alleged involvement in a series of unsolved bombings in his region by the Chinese authorities and sentenced to death in December 2002 along with Lobsang Dhondup, a 28-year-old assistant of his. Lobsang was executed almost immediately in late January 2003,<ref name="AN">Petition to Save Tibetan Monk Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche, Prisoner in China AsiaNews, 29 January 2007.</ref> marking the first execution of a Tibetan for political crimes in 20 years. Tenzin Delek's trial began on 29 November 2002 before the Local Court in Garze and was sentenced to death with a two-year execution adjournment. Overseas human rights groups and United Nations human rights experts protested that the case against him was seriously flawed, that he did not receive a fair trial, and was mistreated in detention.<ref name="AN"/>
His sentence was commuted to life imprisonment on 26 January 2005. Many overseas advocates of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche continued to fight for a retrial.Template:Citation needed
In November 2009, 40,000 Tibetans in Tenzin Delek Rinpoche's home area signed a petition asking for a re-trial. They staged a hunger strike at the county seat of Lithang for a few days, which led to the temporary arrest of about 70 Tibetans.<ref name="FreeTibetanHeroes-PetitionTenzing"/>
He died on 12 July 2015 in Chengdu, China, at the age of 65.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Prior to his death Tibetans and rights groups had called for his release on medical parole.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His death was followed by calls for the release of his body in order to determine the cause of death and carry out traditional funeral rites; one protest was met by China's security forces opening fire, injuring several Tibetans.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Chinese authorities cremated the body without an autopsy.<ref name=NYTR71615>Template:Cite news</ref>
Statement by Tenzin Delek
"Since 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."<ref name="FreeTibetanHeroes-PetitionTenzing"/><ref name="ITSN-PoliticalPrisoners-Transcript">Transcript of recording of Tenzin Delek Rinpoche obtained from the detention center in Dartsedo, the capital of Kardze Tibet Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan province, on 20 January 2003. Radio Free Asia received the recording the following morning.</ref>
See also
References
External links
- 1950 births
- 2015 deaths
- Tibetan environmentalists
- Tulkus
- Lamas
- People from Garze
- Tibetan Buddhists from Tibet
- Rinpoches
- Chinese prisoners sentenced to death
- Prisoners sentenced to death by the People's Republic of China
- Prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment by the People's Republic of China
- 20th-century lamas
- Terrorism in China
- Prisoners who died in Chinese detention