BEIJING (AFP) — Eight monks convicted of staging a bomb attack in Tibet at the height of anti-China protests nearly seven months ago have been sentenced to prison, one of them for life, a judge said Wednesday.
"They were convicted of causing the explosion at the government building of Xiangpi township," Zhang Weilai, a judge at Chamdo Intermediate Court in the east Tibetan prefecture where the blast took place, told AFP by phone.
Xiangpi, or Gyanbe in Tibetan, is over 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) east of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, where violence erupted on March 14 following four days of peaceful protests against Chinese rule of the Himalayan region.
Tibetan monks were heavily involved in the unrest that quickly spread to other areas of Tibet such as Xiangpi and neighbouring Tibetan-populated regions of China.
The Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, says over 400 Tibetans died in a government crackdown in Lhasa alone, but China has reported police killing just one "insurgent" and blames Tibetan "rioters" for the deaths of 21 people.
Zhang said one of the monks was sentenced to life in jail, but declined to say what jail terms the other seven received.
Other than saying the monks did not appeal, Zhang gave no other details.
The London-based Free Tibet group, citing an unnamed source, said two monks had been given life sentences, and the six others were jailed for between five and 15 years.
The group said the monks were aged between 19 and 31.
China's state-run press had previously reported that the monks from Thangkya monastery, or Tongxia in Chinese, had confessed to using home-made explosives to bomb a government building on March 23.
However the Chinese press has given no details on the extent of the damage to the building, or whether anyone was injured or killed.
Free Tibet said the monks had been denied access to family and legal counsel after being detained.
But China's foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang on Tuesday insisted the case had been handled according to the law.
"Anyone that engages in illegal criminal activities in China, regardless of what nationality they are, or what religion they follow, must be dealt with according to the law," Qin told reporters when asked about the case.
"They were convicted of causing the explosion at the government building of Xiangpi township," Zhang Weilai, a judge at Chamdo Intermediate Court in the east Tibetan prefecture where the blast took place, told AFP by phone.
Xiangpi, or Gyanbe in Tibetan, is over 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) east of Lhasa, the capital of Tibet, where violence erupted on March 14 following four days of peaceful protests against Chinese rule of the Himalayan region.
Tibetan monks were heavily involved in the unrest that quickly spread to other areas of Tibet such as Xiangpi and neighbouring Tibetan-populated regions of China.
The Dalai Lama, Tibet's exiled spiritual leader, says over 400 Tibetans died in a government crackdown in Lhasa alone, but China has reported police killing just one "insurgent" and blames Tibetan "rioters" for the deaths of 21 people.
Zhang said one of the monks was sentenced to life in jail, but declined to say what jail terms the other seven received.
Other than saying the monks did not appeal, Zhang gave no other details.
The London-based Free Tibet group, citing an unnamed source, said two monks had been given life sentences, and the six others were jailed for between five and 15 years.
The group said the monks were aged between 19 and 31.
China's state-run press had previously reported that the monks from Thangkya monastery, or Tongxia in Chinese, had confessed to using home-made explosives to bomb a government building on March 23.
However the Chinese press has given no details on the extent of the damage to the building, or whether anyone was injured or killed.
Free Tibet said the monks had been denied access to family and legal counsel after being detained.
But China's foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang on Tuesday insisted the case had been handled according to the law.
"Anyone that engages in illegal criminal activities in China, regardless of what nationality they are, or what religion they follow, must be dealt with according to the law," Qin told reporters when asked about the case.
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