The Chinese government on Thursday released a Tibetan nun who had been a political prisoner for more than 14 years and had become internationally known as one of the "singing nuns" of Drapchi Prison in Tibet, according to a San Francisco-based human rights organization.
The early release of the prisoner, Phuntsog Nyidron, whose sentence was scheduled to end in March 2005, appeared to be a goodwill gesture, and came a day after the State Department criticized China in its annual report on human rights, citing the country's "ongoing abuses" in Tibet.
John Kamm, executive director of the Dui Hua Foundation, which monitors Chinese human rights cases, said an official with the Chinese Foreign Ministry phoned him on Thursday night with news of the release.
"This is the first significant Chinese gesture on the issue of prison releases in quite some time," said Mr. Kamm, who has been working on the case since 1994.
Phuntsog Nyidron is one of 14 Tibetan nuns who had been jailed at the Drapchi Prison in Tibet. Human rights organizations and advocates of Tibetan independence had long campaigned for the group's release. Mr. Kamm said that Phuntsog Nyidron is the last of the nuns to be set free. Most of them served their full sentences; at least one other was granted an early release by the Chinese government.
Phuntsog Nyidron was reportedly arrested in 1989, when she was 24, after she and other nuns held a peaceful demonstration for Tibetan independence. She was reportedly tortured and given a nine-year sentence. But in 1993, a tape of the nuns singing songs praising the Dalai Lama and supporting Tibetan independence was smuggled out of the prison. The tape became a rallying cry for supporters of the Dalai Lama.
Mr. Kamm said the release could signal a new round of talks between the Chinese government and the Dalai Lama. He said Tibetan political prisoners were released before the previous two rounds of talks, most recently in 2002.
According to a Web site, www.Drapchi14.org, which is run by Amnesty International Group 133 and another human rights group, Phuntsog Nyidron is believed to be suffering from kidney problems. Mr. Kamm said that he was aware that her health was bad but did not know any details.
Mr. Kamm said that Phuntsog Nyidron's release was a high priority for the United States government, including the American ambassador to China, Clark T. Randt Jr.