Chinese 'riot trials' of Tibetans flawed: HRW

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New York, April 30:: The trials of 30 Tibetans, which led to their conviction for alleged role in worst anti-Beijing protests since 1989, were 'not open' and 'public' as claimed by the China, a leading rights watchdog alleged on Wednesday.

While the reports from the official Xinhua news agency termed the proceedings as an "open court session", the actual trials had been conducted covertly on undisclosed dates earlier in April, Human Rights Watch said.

"Guilty or innocent, these Tibetans are entitled to a fair trial," said Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director at HRW.

"Instead, they were tried on secret evidence behind closed doors and without the benefit of a meaningful defence by lawyers they'd chosen," she said.

The Intermediate People's Court in Lhasa, capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), conducted a "sentencing rally" (xuanpan dahui) on Tuesday, during which Tibetans, including six monks, were handed over sentences, ranging from three years to life imprisonment.

HRW said that severe flaws in the regional authorities' handling of the Tibetan protests precluded fair trials of people suspected of having participated in the disturbances.

These flaws included a consistent failure to establish a distinction between peaceful and violent protesters, remarks by the Public Prosecution at the time of suspects' arrest that assumed their guilt rather than innocence and secret trial proceedings.

In addition, these 30 Tibetans may have been denied their right to their own counsel, the rights watchdog said.