Tibetan monk's death sentence commuted
Associated Press
Beijing, January 26, 2005
The death sentence imposed on a Tibetan monk whose conviction in a series of fatal bombings prompted an international outcry was commuted on Wednesday to life in prison, the government announced.
Tenzin Deleg Rinpoche, 54, was convicted in December 2002 and given a death sentence with a two-year reprieve, which expired on Wednesday.
The official Xinhua News Agency said a court in the southwestern province of Sichuan commuted the sentence because he obeyed unspecified legal conditions during the reprieve.
The monk's conviction prompted protests by activists who said he was targeted because of his community activism.
A group of United Nations human rights experts said he received an unfair trial and was mistreated in detention.
Chinese authorities say the monk and his aide, Lobsang Dhondup, confessed to the bombings. Lobsang Dhondup was executed in January 2003.
© HT Media Ltd. 2004.