Yeshe Choedron is a retired medical doctor. She has been in prison since 2008, when she was arrested in Lhasa and later sentenced to 15 years in jail for “espionage”. Her arrest and imprisonment are believed to be linked to her participation in the 2008 protests and her human rights activism.
Yeshe Choedron is a mother and has not been able to see her children since her sentence. According to sources in Tibet, she is also in very bad health. She is believed to be in Drapchi Prison in Lhasa.
Yeshe Choedron is part of Free Tibet's In The Dark campaign, which aims to find disappeared Tibetans and work for their release. We are working on the cases of eight political prisoners held by the Chinese authorities, all of whom remain cut off from the world with little or no information about their location or current condition. Urge China to release them and respect human rights!
To find out more about the other cases please visit our campaign page.
Add your voice to our action, calling on the Director of Drapchi Prison to push for medical parole for Yeshe Choedron:
Dear Director,
We are writing to you to raise the case of Yeshe Choedron (益西曲珍), who is currently serving a 15-year sentence in Drapchi prison, and to request that you do everything within your power to secure her release on medical parole.
We are concerned by Yeshe Choedron's continued imprisonment, especially since she is known to be in poor health. Furthermore, we are concerned that Yeshe Choedron, a mother of two, has been prevented from seeing her family since her detention in March 2008.
The lack of access to Yeshe Choedron or information about her current circumstances also raises concerns over her treatment in prison, including fears that she is not receiving adequate access to medical treatment.
For this reason, we have contacted the authorities to demand Yeshe Choedron’s release on medical parole. In the meantime, in accordance with the Prison Law of the People's Republic of China, the National Human Rights Action Plan of China 2012-2015 and international legal standards, we call on you as the person responsible for her treatment to:
- Ensure that she receives prompt, effective medical treatment whenever needed, for new and existing health problems (Section II, Human Rights Action Plan)
- Ensure she is well-treated and not victim of torture or other ill-treatments (Article 14, Prison Law of the People’s Republic of China)
- Ensure her prison conditions preserve her dignity (Article 7, Prison Law of PRC) and comfort, including appropriate clothing, warmth, toilet and bathing facilities, recreational and educational opportunities and personal space
- Ensure she is provided with sufficient food and water
- Ensure her relatives are informed of her location (Article 20, Prison Law of PRC) and that they are able to visit her, especially her two children (Article 47)
- Ensure she is given full access to a lawyer of her choosing, and is able to submit appeals and complaints about her treatment to resident procurators without hindrance (Section II, Human Rights Action Plan)
- Ensure she practises her religious devotions and duties in complete freedom (Article 52, Prison Law of PRC and Article 36, Constitution of the People’s Republic of China)
- Ensure she is allowed to communicate with the outside world by sending and receiving correspondence (Article 47, Prison Law of PRC)
- We also demand that you employ your power and authority, wherever the law allows it, to support Yeshe Choedron’s early release through parole, medical leave or other means.
We look forward to evidence that she is receiving this treatment, to which she is entitled under the aforementioned legal provisions.
Yours sincerely,
Free Tibet will only process the information you provide for the purposes of adding your name to the petition. Your details will not be shared with any other organisations other than the target of the petition. Further details can be found in our privacy policy.