Tibetans sentenced after self-immolations

Source:Xinhua Published: 2013-2-1 0:38:01

A court in Southwest China's Sichuan Province on Thursday convicted two ethnic Tibetans of intentional homicide for inciting eight people to self-immolate, three of whom died.

Lorang Konchok, 40, was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve and has been stripped of his political rights for life. His nephew, Lorang Tsering, 31, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and has been stripped of his political rights for three years, according to the court verdict.

The two incited and coerced eight people to self-immolate, resulting in three deaths, the Intermediate People's Court of the Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture of Aba found.

Of the eight people, three set themselves on fire and died in 2012. The other five people did not self-immolate, after abandoning their plans or after police intervened.

Lorang Konchok, a monk in Aba's Kirti Monastery, maintained long-term and close contact with Samtan, a member of an overseas "Kirti Monastery media liaison team", a "Tibet independence" organization, according to the court.

After the self-immolation of a Kirti Monastery monk named Tapey in 2009, Samtan asked Lorang Konchok to collect and provide information related to self-immolations in Aba.

More than 130 people were present when the verdict was handed down, including the relatives and friends of the two defendants.

A county court in Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Northwest China's Gansu Province Thursday also sentenced six ethnic Tibetans to three to 12 years in prison for their roles in a local villager's self-immolation in October.

Xinhua



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