The first death sentences were handed out yesterday to Tibetans involved in last year’s anti-government riots in Lhasa — even as the Dalai Lama’s envoy, on a trip to London, warned of “undeclared martial law” in Tibet and a massive build-up of Chinese troops in the region.

Two people were sentenced to death for arson during the riots, which broke out after days of peaceful anti-government protests led by Buddhist monks in the streets of the Tibetan capital.

Tibetans claim that more than 200 people were killed in the violent crackdown by Chinese security forces after the riots in March 2008. Beijing blames rioters for 21 deaths.

Kelsang Gyaltsen, the Dalai Lama’s envoy to Europe, warned that thousands more Chinese troops had moved into the area in the past few months and had begun constructing barracks in remote areas. He is urging Europe to develop a common position on Tibet and to exert greater pressure on Beijing to restart talks on Tibetan autonomy.

“To be effective, they [EU countries] need to adopt a strong and clear position on Tibet,” he said. In response to the riots, Beijing held a long-delayed eighth round of talks with the Dalai Lama’s representatives and invited them to submit their plan for further autonomy. However, in November, they rejected it outright.

Mr Gyaltsen accuses Beijing of stringing out the process until after the Olympics last year in order to avoid international embarrassment. He said the issue should have been seen as a test of the Chinese Government’s commitment to reform — and that it had “failed the examination miserably”.

The Chinese state news agency Xinhua, citing a court spokesman, said the that Tibetans sentenced to death yesterday were guilty of “starting fatal fires” during the riot. Two others on trial were given suspended death sentences and another, life imprisonment.

No names were released.

Times Recommends

• UN may halt 400-year-old 'freedom of the seas'
• Where the Rosetta belongs can’t be set in stone
• Gas deal on hold, but Ukraine may pay in the end