Dharamshala: June 24th, 2012. A young 17 year old, girl named Jigmey Dolma was arrested at 9:30 pm, for protesting against the brutalities within Chinese-occupied Tibet . The young girl shouted slogans such as ‘Free Tibet', ‘The Dalai Lama Must Be Returned To Tibet' and ‘All the Political Prisoners Must Be Released - Including Panchen Lama', in her native language. She continued to protest for approximately four minutes, after which she was taken into custody by the Chinese police.
Early in the morning on June 24th, Jigmey told her parents Nyima (father) and Solhamo (mother) that she was going to the nearby farm for some work. However, she had been careful not to alert her family or friends about her intention to protest, as they would have discouraged her. Upon her arrest, Jigmey's father was not allowed to see her. Subsequently, on June 28th, her family was informed that their daughter was to be taken to a hospital for examination. When Nyima arrived at the hospital to wait for Jigmey he noticed that his daughter's hand was covered in cloth and that she could not stand straight. He also noticed that she was unable to walk properly, and inferred that she had been tortured during the arrest. On 29th June Nyima was finally allowed to see his daughter who told him, that she was very frightened during her detainment as she was alone in prison and had been tortured harshly.
Jigmey has two sisters and her aunt, who is a nun named Bomo Taga participated in a pro-Tibet protest in 2008 leading to a subsequent arrest. She was given a 2 year prison sentence and upon her release, was not allowed to return to Dakhar Nunnery, which had been her home, after she had taken her celibacy vows. Bomo took to becoming an ascetic in the mountains due to this and upon her return, fell very sick. She was taken to a hospital where doctors examined her and found that her stomach had become damaged after undergoing torture in prison. Currently, she stays at home due to her deteriorating health. Every time she tries to access healthcare facilities at the local government hospital, she has to bear the social stigma of being registered as a former criminal.
Source- Jamyang Soepa (Member of Tibetan Parliament)
