The authorities have reportedly made several offers of medical parole to Jigme Zangpo over the past two years, with at least two groups of senior officials sent to Drapchi to speak to him about the possibility. Reports received by TIN suggest that because Jigme Zangpo was concerned that he would be a burden for relatives if he was released and because he said he had become accustomed to prison life, he continued to resist these offers. He was also said to be unhappy with the authorities' emphasis on him seeking medical treatment abroad rather than staying in Tibet. When it was suggested recently that he could stay in Lhasa if he wished upon his release, but that the authorities would also give "sympathetic consideration" to an application he might make to leave the country, he finally agreed that he would leave Drapchi. Jigme Zangpo, who is much older than most political prisoners in China and Tibet who are granted medical parole, is currently staying with a relative in Lhasa. His release just eight years before the end of his long sentence follows several years of campaigning by Tibet support groups and non-governmental organisations worldwide. Western governments, notably the Swiss and the US governments, have also raised his case with the Chinese authorities on many occasions.

Jigme Zangpo, who is from Chushur (Chinese: Chushui) in the Lhasa area, was first sentenced to three years of "re-education through labour" in 1965, because he had "subjected his students to corporal punishment", according to Chinese official sources. Reliable reports received by TIN indicate that he served a further ten-year sentence from 1970 onwards for political activities. In 1983 he received a 15-year sentence and five years deprivation of civil and political rights for "spreading and inciting counter-revolutionary propaganda" after he had been seen pasting a personally written wall poster at the gates of the Jokhang temple in Lhasa on 12 July of that year. According to the trial and sentencing document, the poster was a criticism of "the leadership of our country", saying that: "Tibetans cannot be prosecuted for 1959 riots; demanding 'violent struggle'; and seeking 'Tibetan independence' among other reactionary propaganda". This sentence was increased by five years after he shouted "reactionary slogans" in Drapchi prison on 1 December 1988. The trial and sentencing document for this sentence extension stated that: "The court, therefore, recognises that the defendant Jigme Zangpo not only continued to carry out activities in support of the reactionary elements but went further by spreading and inciting counter-revolutionary propaganda during his imprisonment."

On 6 December 1991, Jigme Zangpo was reportedly beaten, held in solitary confinement for six weeks, and his sentence extended by eight years for shouting "Free Tibet" during a visit to Drapchi prison by the Swiss ambassador to China. This extension increased his sentence to 28 years. Following his involvement in protests at Drapchi prison on 1 and 4 May 1998, Jigme Zangpo was held in solitary confinement and, together with almost all other political prisoners in Drapchi at the time, is likely to have suffered from beatings and interrogation as a result. A former Tibetan political prisoner told TIN that during the protests, Jigme Zangpo had urged other political prisoners not to take part in violent action during the protest. "He feared that we would do so because we were angry," said the former prisoner.

There have been serious concerns for Jigme Zangpo's health for several years. The Chinese authorities admitted in answer to a query from the Beijing-based Swiss ambassador in September 1997 that he was suffering from "hypertension" but was in "generally good health". They also told the ambassador that Jigme Zangpo had been "excused from work duties" at Drapchi. In 2000 the Chinese authorities admitted that Jigme Zangpo's health had deteriorated and that he had received treatment for cardiac disease. The Chinese authorities now say that he has "illnesses associated with old age" but that these are "not life-threatening", according to John Kamm of the San Francisco-based Dui Hua Foundation, who was involved in negotiations for Jigme Zangpo's release.

Jigme Zangpo's release on medical parole is the second high-profile release of a Tibetan political prisoner this year. Tibetan ethnomusicologist Ngawang Choephel was released on medical parole and arrived in the United States on 20 January after serving six years of an 18-year sentence for espionage. The release of Ngawang Choephel occurred in the run-up to the February summit in Beijing between US President George Bush and Chinese President Jiang Zemin. While Jigme Zangpo's release coincides with the annual session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, it is unlikely to be linked to this meeting, as the offer of medical parole was made to him much earlier, and there is little pressure from either Europe or the US to support a resolution at this year's Commission against China's human rights record. Dui Hua Foundation Director John Kamm, who was also involved in the negotiations for the release of Ngawang Choephel, told TIN that Jigme Zangpo's release was: "another indication that the Chinese government will eventually respond to international pressure."

Samdhong Rinpoche
Kalon Tripa
Central Tibetan Administration, Dharamsala

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Last updated: 4-April-2002