A Tibetan woman in Ngaba County died after being subjected to brutal torture by the Chinese prison guards, according to confirmed information received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).

A 38 year-old Nechung, mother of four children died days after being subjected to brutal torture in the Chinese prison. She hailed from Charu Hu Village in Ngaba County, Ngaba "TAP", Sichuan Province.

Sources told TCHRD that she was involved in peaceful protests on 16 and 17 March 2008 in Ngaba County. Later on 18 March, she was arrested by the Chinese security forces for allegedly being the first person to pull down the door plate of the Township office.

On 26 March 2008, she was released from the prison. She spent nine days in prison undergoing brutal torture in the hands of Chinese prison guards. At the time of her release from the prison, her health was in an extremely critical condition. There were many bruise marks on her body, she was unable to speak and eat food, constantly vomiting and could hardly breathe properly.

After the release, her relatives immediately took her to the County government hospital for treatment. However, the County government hospital refused to admit her to the hospital to receive timely medical treatment, apparently under influence and intimidation of the local Chinese authorities. She was completely denied from accessing timely medical treatment in the hospital.

After remaining in critical condition for 22 days without medical treatment she died on 17 April 2008 in abject state of neglect, pity and apathy of local Chinese authorities. Even after her death, the Chinese authorities issued terse warning to Tibetan monks for offering prayers and ritual rites for her deceased soul. This goes to show that the Chinese authorities traverse extreme lengths to deprive Tibetan people of their basic and fundamental human rights in a cruel and bizarre abuse of power.

She is survived by her four children, all minors. Her husband has been on the run since her arrest, apparently to avoid being arrested by the Chinese security forces.

TCHRD expresses its serious concern at the cases of Tibetans tortured to death by the Chinese security forces in recent months. This is a clear indication that China still continues to resort to widespread use of torture in prisons to deal with the Tibetan prisoners of conscience. TCHRD urges the Chinese government to immediately put an end to torture tactics to extract confessions in the detention centres. TCHRD also calls upon the international bodies and vital organs to the UN to protect the basic and fundamental rights of the Tibetan people in Tibet.