A representative of Students for a Free Tibet tells Boing Boing that 6 American bloggers and pro-Tibet activists who went missing in Beijing for days after being detained by authorities have re-appeared — and that authorities have given them a sentence of ten days in jail each for “upsetting public order.”
The names of the missing bloggers/vloggers and activists presumed to have been those jailed:
– James Powderly (Graffitti Research Lab )
– Brian Conley (Alive In Baghdad blog)
– Jeffrey Rae
– Jeff Goldin
– Michael Liss
– Tom Grant
Details on SFT website, with statements from that group alleging recent extra-judicial executions and detentions of ethnic Tibetan protesters inside Tibet:
A Tibetan nun named Sonam Yungzom is reported to have been shot while shouting slogans in Kardze town, eastern Tibet (now part of Sichuan province) on August 10th. One source says she yelled out: “There are no human rights in China, there is brutal oppression in Tibet, still the Olympics go on in China.” She was hit by five to six bullets and then her body was thrown in a vehicle and taken away.
Snip from a news article about the jailed protesters in Beijing:
In a brief faxed statement, the city police information department said “Thomas” and five other foreigners had been apprehended on Tuesday for “upsetting public order”, without identifying the six people any further. “Beijing police decided to give the six 10 days of administrative detention,” the faxed statement said.
Administrative detention is a punishment that can be meted out by Chinese police without having to go through the courts. Students For a Free Tibet said it assumed the six were American pro-Tibet activists who police detained in Beijing on Tuesday.
“These young men were in Beijing to amplify Tibetan voices calling for freedom and human rights and the right of all people to freedom of expression,” Students For a Free Tibet executive director Lhadon Tethong said.
Six foreigners given 10 days’ detention: Beijing police (Agence-France Presse). (Thanks, NF)
Previously on Boing Boing blog:
* Beijing update: New detentions, 6 US protesters missing, Tibetan protesters in Tibet reportedly shot dead.
* Beijing: “Alive in Baghdad” videoblogger among US citizens detained in pro-Tibet protests
* Beijing: Five US activists detained after lighting up “Free Tibet” LED Throwies banner near Olympics site
* GRL’s James Powderly detained in Beijing for planning pro-Tibet “L.A.S.E.R. Stencil” art protest
Related episodes of Boing Boing tv:
* BBtv WORLD (Tibet): Inside Lhasa
* Vlog (Xeni): Tibet report – monks forced to participate in staged videos.
* Vlog (Xeni): Tibet’s uprising and the internet