Niece of priest flees China:
The niece of a prominent Tibetan religious leader has fled China and arrived in exile in northern India to reveal what her family says is the truth about the man’s death in a Chinese prison.
Nyima Lhamo told The Associated Press late Wednesday that her family believes Tenzin Delek Rinpoche died as a result of torture and not from a heart attack as Chinese officials said.
Nyima, 26, said that her uncle told her mother during prison visits that he was repeatedly beaten and starved and asked to demonstrate his religious powers by police officials.
The family was informed of the high priest’s death in July last year and only allowed to see the body after Nyima tied a ceremonial Tibetan scarf to the bars of the prison gate and tried to hang herself.
Nyima and her mother were only given a few moments with Tenzin Delek’s body. But other monks in prison, who had dressed his body in monks’ robes and laid it on a platform, told them that his nails were black and he had a deep hollow behind his head. Nyima said her uncle’s lips had also turned black.
She arrived in the northern hill town of Dharmsala via Nepal Sunday after two weeks on the road with the help of smugglers whom she paid $9,700 for the trip.
She said she made the difficult decision to leave her aging mother and 6-year-old daughter behind to tell her uncle’s story to the world.
“We don’t trust what China is telling us and demand a thorough investigation into his death,” she said.