On the occasion of the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) honours the enduring courage of Tibetan political prisoners, environmental defenders, and human rights advocates who have suffered torture and inhumane treatment under the Chinese government’s oppressive policies in Tibet. 

This year’s observance coincides with the long-overdue submission by China of its sixth periodic report to the UN Committee Against Torture submitted in February 2025, more than five years past its due date. While the report highlights a series of legal and institutional reforms aimed at preventing torture, it notably fails to acknowledge the situation in Tibet, where torture remains a systematic and state-sanctioned practice.

Despite China’s stated commitments to legal safeguards, including mandatory video recording of interrogations, exclusion of confessions obtained under torture, and enhanced prosecutorial oversight, Tibet remains a legal black hole, where these protections are rarely applied, if at all. Detainees in Tibet continue to face prolonged incommunicado detention, often in undisclosed facilities; coerced confessions obtained through physical and psychological abuse; denial of legal counsel and family contact, especially during initial detention; closed trials and opaque sentencing, frequently based on vague charges like “endangering state security” and “leaking state secrets.”