Tibetans in exile say a court in southwestern China has given out two and three year prison terms to three Tibetans for their alleged involvement in a self-immolation last year.
The court in Sichuan province this week sentenced Dolma Tso and Konme of Meruma town, Ngaba to three years in prison, and Gephel for two years on murder charges related to the death of Konchok Tseten, although Tseten had died from committing self-immolation last December.
The brother of Dolma Tso tells reporters in Dharamsala, India that his sister was tortured and beaten during her 11 months in detention, and that she was not allowed to have a lawyer and only her father and husband were permitted to attend her trial.
The brother adds that she was accused of transporting Konchok Tseten's body after he took his own life.
The press conference was organized by Gu Chu Sum, an organization of former political prisoners which is calling on the international community to press China for the release of the three.
Chinese authorities have not commented on the allegations or the trial.
More than 130 Tibetans have self-immolated inside China since 2009. Many left behind notes saying they were doing so to protest Chinese rule over their homeland. China has said the suicide protests are acts of terrorism.