KDW Successfully Represents Tibetan Pro Bono Client in Asylum Case

Kelley Drye successfully represented, pro bono, a Tibetan artist in his application for asylum before the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services. The client had been incarcerated and tortured in Tibet by officials of the People’s Republic of China for his promotion of Tibetan culture and religion and his support of the Tibetan separatist movement. The client arrived in the United States in March 2003 after fleeing Tibet through Nepal and India.

The Kelley Drye team spent three months preparing the asylum application. This effort included producing numerous affidavits from witnesses who had fled Tibet with the client, medical experts from the NYU/Bellevue Program for Survivors of Torture, country experts from the New York Tibet House, and preparing the client for the asylum hearing.

This case was referred to Kelley Drye by Human Rights First, a non-profit advocacy organization.