Prominent Tibetan monk dies in China jail

Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, a prominent monk, recognized by the Dalai Lama as a spiritual master, died on Sunday at a prison in Dazhu county in Sichuan province, which borders the Tibetan region.

Tibet's government-in-exile said the cause of death remained unclear and that Chinese authorities had so far refused to return the body to his family. Radio Free Asia said that Tenzin Delek had been in extremely poor health with a serious heart condition. Tibet rights groups claim he'd been regularly tortured during his jail term.

Quoting a source in Tibet, the broadcaster said the family had been informed that he was gravely ill, but he was already dead by the time they arrived at the jail.

Separatists blamed

Tenzin Delek was 13 years into a 20-year sentence after being convicted of terrorism and incitement to separatism following a blast in the center of Chengdu, a city in southwestern China on April 3, 2002.

His cousin Geshe Nyima, released a statement via Students for a Free Tibet saying: "Tenzin Delek Rinpoche was an innocent monk who suffered over 13 years of unjust imprisonment, torture and abuse in a Chinese prison for simply advocating for the rights and well-being of his people and for expressing his devotion to His Holiness the Dalai Lama."

Arrested in connection with the explosion that injured three people, Tenzin Delek was condemned to death although his sentence was later commuted to life in prison and then to 20 years' jail. But his assistant Lobsang Dhondup was sentenced to death and was executed in 2003.

Tenzin Delek maintained his innocence throughout his sentence and the pair's convictions were condemned by the US, EU and human rights groups at the time.

Longstanding illness

Last year, his family applied for medical parole because he suffered from a heart condition, high blood pressure and dizzy spells. They say his illnesses were not being treated by prison officials.

Born in 1950 in a Tibetan area of Sichuan, Tenzin Delek lived in India from 1982 to 1987 to study under the Dalai Lama before returning to China to work in the community.

Human Rights groups say China continues to suppress Tibetan culture and has detained and harassed dozens of Buddhist monks who work on behalf of Tibet's spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

nm/jil (AFP, AP, Radio Free Asia)