E/CN.4/2006/6/Add.6 page 47 19. Due to time constraints (late arrival from Drapchi prison, strict working hours of prison staff), the Special Rapporteur was able to interview only 3 out of a list of 10 prisoners whom he had wished to see. 20. Jigme Tenzin (Bangri Tsamtrul Rinpoche), aged 43, a lama and founder of an orphanage, was arrested in August 1999 and later convicted of inciting splittism and sentenced to 15 years and seven months imprisonment in a closed hearing by Lhasa Municipal Intermediate People’s Court in September 2000. His sentencing document lists evidence against him that includes meeting the Dalai Lama, accepting a donation for the home from a foundation in India, and a business relationship with a Tibetan contractor who lowered a Chinese flag and attempted to blow himself up in front of the Potala Palace in Lhasa in August 1999. He acknowledged meeting the Dalai Lama, accepting the contribution, and knowing the contractor, but he denied the charges against him and rejected the court’s portrayal of events. He told the Special Rapporteur that the first five days of his detention was the most difficult period as he was continuously interrogated night and day. He was held handcuffed with one hand behind his shoulder and the other around his waist, and empty bottles were put in the spaces between his arms. His legs were fettered, he was hooded and made to kneel on a low stool for 1.5 hours. The room where he was held was dark and dirty and without natural sunlight. Regular interrogations continued over the following three months. Most of the time he was wearing handcuffs and shackles, even when eating and sleeping. Because of this and because he was afraid it was often hard to sleep. The police wanted him to confess for the flag incident, as well as to having established the children’s home for political purposes. He was moved to Gutsa for one year and then to Drapchi. In Gutsa he stayed together with either three to five persons in a room which had a monitoring device. In his section there were only “political prisoners”. After 2000 his treatment improved. He had access to a television, water when he wanted it, and had longer free time. He was provided educational classes regarding the status of Tibet. After these classes he confessed as he did not want to spend his “whole life” in prison, having already spent six years in prison. He complains of heart disease and gall stones, for which he mostly treats with family-provided medication. His family visits him once a month. He has no right to telephone but he can send letters to his wife. He complained of monotony and boredom, having to spend most of his time in his room and not being allowed to pray. He told the Special Rapporteur that the most serious criminals are locked up most of the time. He can, however, go outside in the morning until noon. Since he has been convicted of a political crime, possibly on the basis of information extracted by torture, the Special Rapporteur appeals to the Government that he be released. 20. Lobsang Tsuitrim, aged 29, a monk. He was first detained on 8 November 1995. During interrogations he was shocked with an electric baton all over his body, including on the face. In one incident in Drapchi, on 4 May 1998, his arms and legs were tied together and he was beaten with a stick (plastic with sand inside) in connection with a disagreement concerning the raising of flags. Since then he has not been subjected to ill treatment, and is expected to be released in 2009. He pointed out that the conditions at Drapchi were better than in Quishui Prison: the food is worse; he only has 20 minutes of free time outside his cell a day; the temperatures inside in the summers are hot and very cold in the winter. In either Drapchi or Qushui Prisons, he complained of boredom: the prisoners must sit in their cells, they cannot pray though many are devoutly religious, nor can they work, practice sports, or have access to reading