According to information provided by the Chinese government to The Dui Hua Foundation’s executive director John Kamm, the Lhasa Intermediate People’s Court has commuted the remainder of Tibetan nun Phuntsog Nyidron’s sentence for counterrevolution and ordered her released from Drapchi Prison on February 26, 2004.
Phuntsog Nyidron is in her mid-30s and was a nun at the Michungri nunnery when, on October 14, 1989, she was detained for “counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement.” She was subsequently sentenced to nine years in prison by the Lhasa Intermediate People’s Court on November 25, 1989.
In September 1993, the Lhasa Intermediate People’s Court tried Phuntsog Nyidron and 13 other female prisoners for committing “counterrevolutionary propaganda and incitement” while in prison. Phuntsog Nyidron was convicted and sentenced an additional eight years. Her new date of release was set at March 21, 2006.
In March 2001, Phuntsog Nyidron was granted a one-year sentence reduction for good behavior. Her new release date was set for March 21, 2005.
Kamm was told that the release of Phuntsog Nyidron was a humanitarian gesture to mark the Tibetan New Year and reflected the nun’s good behavior. The Chinese government also took into consideration the concern for Phuntsog Nyidron expressed by many Americans, including Ambassador Clark Randt, Assistant Secretary of State Lorne Craner, Senators Orrin Hatch, Chuck Hagel, and Dianne Feinstein, and Congressmen Jim Leach, Frank Wolf, Chris Smith, Tom Lantos, and Tom Udall.
Kamm has requested permission to travel to Lhasa to meet Phuntsog Nyidron. His request is under active consideration by the Chinese government.
The Dui Hua Foundation
San Francisco, California
February 26, 2004