Radio Free Asia
2016-01-12
■ A former Tibetan protester was flown on Tuesday from Tibet’s regional capital Lhasa to Sichuan for medical treatment for an injury sustained while being held in a Chinese prison, sources said.
Kelsang Tsering was released last year after serving seven years in Chushul prison, just outside Lhasa, for his role in a March 2008 Tibetan uprising against Chinese rule, a source in Tibet told RFA’s Tibetan Service.
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| Kelsang Tsering is shown lying injured in bed in an undated photo. Photo courtesy of an RFA listener |
He has now been taken to a hospital in Sichuan’s provincial capital Chengdu, RFA’s source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“However, there is very little hope for his recovery,” the source said.
Images of Tsering sent overseas and obtained by RFA show him lying face-down on a bed with a large, open wound on his back.
Tsering’s injury, allegedly suffered as a result of torture in detention, had failed to respond to treatment following his release, and his condition today remains critical, RFA’s source said.
Tsering and his wife and child have faced tough living conditions in Lhasa following his release, and have had little money for his medical treatment, the source said.
Tibetans from all across the plateau rallied to his cause, though, raising about 200,000 yuan [U.S. $30,430] enabling him to fly to Chengdu, he said.
Reported by Kunsang Tenzin for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Dorjee Damdul. Written in English by Brooks Boliek.
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