European Union urged to intercede on behalf of well-known Tibetan TV presenter arrested more than two weeks ago

Reporters Without Borders calls for the immediate release of Tibetan singer and TV presenter Jamyang Kyi, who was arrested on 1 April in her office in the state-owned Qinghai Television station in Xining, the capital of the western province of Qinghai (which borders Tibet Autonomous Region). Her husband and two daughters have received no news of her since 7 April. "Jamyang's arrest by the Chinese security forces is very disturbing," the press freedom organisation said. "European ambassadors based in Beijing must ask the Chinese authorities for news about her. The lack of any foreign journalists or observers in Tibet increases our fears about the treatment reserved for Tibetans held by the police or army." According to the Phayul.com website and Radio Free Asia, Jamyang was arrested on 1 April and the last contact with her was on 7 April. She was arrested for questioning about a trip she made to the United States during which she sang to a Tibetan audience. Police also went to her home and took documents and her computer. Well known as a presenter of Tibetan-language programmes on Qinghai Television, Jamyang, 42, has also made several records in which she sings a fusion of Tibetan traditional music with pop (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWYEWqX5ELM). She has written news reports about the fate of Tibetan women and, until last year, kept a blog (http://www.tibetabc.cn/user1/jamyangkyi/index.html) in which she wrote about such subjects as education, inter-ethnic relations and Tibetan culture.