Tibetan Buddhist monk may have been 'tortured to death by prison guards in China', say relatives

Chinese guards 'were constantly torturing and taunting him', niece says

Protesters in India are arguing that the Buddhist monk was killed by prison guards (AFP/Getty Images)

A prominent Tibetan Buddhist monk who died in controversial circumstances in a Chinese prison may have been tortured to death by the country’s authorities, according to his niece.

Nyima Lhamo claimed her uncle Tenzin Delek did not die of a heart attack – as police at the jail in Chengdu in the south west of the country reported in July – but suffered sustained torture from prison staff.

The 65-year-old died in custody while serving a life sentence for “crimes of terror and incitement of separatism”, Chinese state media reported a week after his death. His body was cremated without a post mortem into the cause of death being carried out.

Ms Lhamo claimed relatives were repeatedly denied access to her uncle, and said he had told her mother that he had been beaten and starved by prison officials.

His niece also said Tenzin Delek had boiling and freezing water thrown over him during lengthy sessions and that “officers were constantly torturing and taunting him”.

The 26-year-old woman travelled to India in order to make a public appeal for justice over his death, saying: “We don’t trust what China is telling us and demand a thorough investigation into his death.”

Ms Lhamo and her mother were only allowed to see his body for a few minutes after Ms Lhamo threatened to hang herself with her scarf on the prison gates in protest, according to Reuters.

They said they saw that his lips and nails were blackened and there was a “soft hollow at the back under his head”.

The family was not given a medical report after his death, and Ms Lhamo and her mother were then put under house arrest for two weeks to prevent them from spreading the news of the monk’s death.

He was given a life sentence by a Chinese court for alleged involvement in an explosion in Chengdu in April 2002, and he always denied he played any role in the attack.

China’s foreign ministry has yet to respond to Ms Lhamo’s claims, although the country has consistently denied allegations of human rights abuses including torture.

On July 17, activists held a protest outside the Chinese embassy in New Delhi, India, insisting the truth be told about the circumstances surrounding his death.