E/CN.4/1990/17 page 11 41. On 21 April 1989 the Special Rapporteur addressed a letter to the Government of China transmitting information alleging that 27 Tibetans had been convicted on 19 January 1989 by the LhaBa City Intermediate People's Court and the Lhasa Downtown Area People's Court for involvement in demonstrations and given prison sentences of various durations. The following detailed cases were reported: (a) Several defendants reportedly alleged during their trial that they had had to confess to the charges brought against them due to the severe torture to which they had been subjected while in detention. Among them were Lobsan Tenzin, sentenced to death, who was allegedly beaten with wooden sticks and iron rods; Tsering Dhondup, sentenced to 18 years' imprisonment, who was allegedly hung upside down from the ceiling and beaten with electric batons during the interrogation; and Gyaltsen Choephel, sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment, who allegedly had his hands and feet shackled, was beaten with electric batons and ropes, was hung from the ceiling for five consecutive days, was taken outside in the middle of the night, was stripped naked and had the lower part of his body smeared with excrement; (b) In addition, Ngawang Dopchen, a monk from the Drepung monastery, who was released on 2 February 1989, had allegedly been tortured while in detention. It was alleged that he had his hands twisted and tied behind his back and was beaten on the chest, as a result of which he suffered broken ribs; (c) It was further reported that five Catholic seminarians, whose names were not given, from Nanmangong village in Hebei Province had been arrested on 2 December 1988 by officers of the Qingyuan County Public Security office, and then released after questioning. Three of them were reportedly arrested again in early January 1989 and detained for three days. While in detention, they were allegedly stripped naked, beaten, forced to lie on a cold cement floor, and burned with lighted cigarettes. That torture was allegedly ordered by two police officers, whose names were transmitted to the Government, who bad allegedly, on various occasions over the past two years, abused their power and persecuted Catholics in that region; (d) Further to the urgent appeal sent to the Chinese Government on 2 December 1988 concerning four Tibetan nuns who had allegedly been subjected to torture, the Special Rapporteur received information that their date of arrest was 24 April 1988. The correct names of the four nuns were reported to be as follows (the civil names are given in parenthesis): Gyaltsen LochS (Zomkyi); Gyaltsen Tenzin (Tsering Dolma); Gyantsen Karzom (Tashi Yangzom) and Ngawang Dolma (Padro). It was further alleged that the four nuns had later been rearrested. 42. On 21 July 1989 the Government of China addressed a letter to the Special Rapporteur, giving more details about the arrest and alleged torture of five Catholic seminarians in Hebei Province (para. 41 (c), above). On 2 December 1989 the Public Security Bureau of the Qingyuan County, Hebei Province, took into custody Chen Hekun, Ji Fuhou and three others for investigation of their suspicious activities in the Nanmanying village. It turned out that they had come to the village to attend a preaching seminar organized by the underground Catholic forces. Once their origins were