| China: Drop Charges Against Karma Samdrup! Dear Mike,  The trial against Karma Samdrup, a prominent Tibetan businessman and environmental philanthropist, started today in Xinjiang, Chinese-occupied East Turkestan. Karma faces trumped-up charges following his efforts to secure the release of his brothers, both environmental activists, who were detained in August 2009. In a statement given to the court, Karma described how during his detention he was beaten, sleep-deprived for days on end, and drugged with a substance that made his eyes and ears bleed.
TAKE ACTION: Send the letter below to the Chinese authorities in Xinjiang and Beijing demanding the charges against Karma Samdrup be immediately dropped.  Karma is a leading Tibetan art dealer and named the 2006 philanthropist of the year by CCTV, China's-state run television network. His environmental protection work has been praised across China. In spite of his innocence, he is being targeted by Chinese authorities bent on silencing any Tibetan who exercises social influence amongst Tibetans, including intellectuals and entrepreneurs.
Your actions will make a difference and help ensure the Chinese government feels international scrutiny over the outcome of this case. Please call the Ministry of Justice in Beijing and express your concern over Karma's case at: +86 10 6520 6706. You can also call the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region authorities at: +86 99 1880 5588. (Note: China is 12 hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time.)
Thank you for speaking out for Tibetans inside Tibet.
With hope, Tendor, Kate, Tendolkar, Mary-Kate, Schuyler and all of us at SFT HQ
 Send a letter to the following decision maker(s):
Minister of Justice, Wu Aiying
Party-Secretary Zhang Chunxian
Below is the sample letter: Subject: Drop Charges Against Karma Samdup & Release Him Now. Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here], I am deeply disturbed to learn that Karma Samdrup, a prominent Tibetan businessman and environmental philanthropist is being tried on trumped-up charges in a Chinese court in Xinjiang. His trial started on Tuesday, June 22nd and he has been badly beaten and tortured since he was arrested in January 2010. For six months, he was denied access to anyone, including his family and his lawyer.
Karma Samdrup is an upstanding citizen who is being targeted by Chinese authorities for a crime he did not commit. He is a leading entrepreneur and environmentalist, and in 2006, he was named philanthropist of the year by CCTV, China's-state run television network. He is also the founder of an award-winning environmental organization called the Qinghai Three Rivers Environmental Protection group.
Karma Samdrup was arrested following his efforts to secure the release of his two brothers, Rinchen Samdrup and Chime Namgyal, who were detained in August 2009 for their environme ntal protection work. He is now facing trial on a baseless charge of dealing in looted antiques dating back to 1998, which demonstrates to the international community that China's legal system is based more on the Chinese authorities' political aims than on rule of law.
Furthermore, the Chinese government recently announced new guidelines to stop the use of torture in detention but, speaking to the court, Karma Samdrup stated that he had been beaten, sleep-deprived for days on end and tortured.
I call on you to immediately drop the charges against Karma Samdrup and to release him from detention at once. I will continue to monitor this case closely and will be alerting my governmental representatives to Karma's plight. Sincerely,
Mike More
| | | Take Action! | | Instructions:
Click here to take action on this issue or choose the "Reply to Sender" option on your email program.
Tell-A-Friend:
Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this.
 Tell-a-Friend!
What's At Stake:
Karma Samdrup, a 42-year old leading Tibetan businessman and father of two, faces a lengthy prison sentence if convicted by a Chinese court on trumped-up charges of dealing in looted antiques. In January 2010, Karma was arrested on this baseless charge that dates back to 1998.
His arrest came as he was trying to secure the release of his two brothers, Rinchen Samdrup and Chime Namgyal, detained for their environmental advocacy work in eastern Tibet. Karma is also an avid environmentalist and founder of an award-winning environmental protection organization. Read the Human Rights Watch report issued earlier this month denouncing Karma's trial and calling for the charges against him to be immediately dropped.
In advance of his trial, Karma's wife started a Chinese-language blog wit h updates, including a moving entry on how Karma's two daughters and mother still don't know he has been detained, but are worried about his whereabouts. Prominent Beijing-based Tibetan writer Woeser has commented on the blog here: http://woeser.middle-way.net/2010/06/blog-post_1077.html
Campaign Expiration Date:
July 21, 2010 | |
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario