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Unit 3 and the Drapchi protests of May 1998Pema Butri, ‘evil spirits’, another suicidePema Butri, Unit 3’s principal official, had previously received little mention, but emerges asa key figure in this report. She is described as in her forties, originally from Shigatse (Ch:Rigaze) Prefecture, with a residence in the Zhide area of Lhasa. Her husband, Jampa, isreportedly a senior official at Lhasa Prison, formerly known as Utritru. The profile providedby prisoners who have fled into exile contrasts with her reputation outside Drapchi’s walls. Sheis said to be a religious person, a regular visitor to a small chapel near the prison known asDrapchi Lhamo, or Drapchi Lhakhang. Monk attendants there are reportedly unaware of herviolent treatment of prison inmates.“Evil spirits” [Tib: dümo] is how she is reputed to address nuns in rukhag 3, often in lieu oftheir names. She has accused them of having “hearts of stone”, and no regard for their families.One of the “old rukhag 3” nuns explained to TIN that some believe Pema Butri may herself bean “evil spirit”. “If you don't stand up when she passes by, they sometimes put you in solitaryconfinement. Whatever we do, when she passes by, we have to put away the work and pay ourrespects as if she were a lama. If you don't pay your respects you are beaten a lot.”The suicide in 1995 of an orphaned farm girl, Tseyang, detained when she was age 15, is linkedto Pema Butri’s methods of intimidation. A native of Dzayul (Ch: Chayu) County in Kongpo(Ch: Gongbu) Prefecture, Tseyang was playing, throwing stones, when she accidentally hit anelderly woman on the head. The blow resulted in the woman’s death. Despite juvenile statusshe was sentenced to six years at Drapchi, placed in “old rukhag 3”, and told she must monitorthe political prisoners and report to unit officials, including Pema Butri. As an orphan with nofamily members, she received no supplementary food, clothing or medicine from visitors; thenuns shared theirs. Friendship developed, with one report claiming Tseyang had expressed adesire to become a nun herself after her prison term expired. But the nuns were careful to avoidcompromising her, and avoided politically edged comments in her presence. Pema Butri,increasingly annoyed that Tseyang was not fulfilling her assigned role as an informant,regularly questioned the girl and threatened her with a sentence extension if she did not comply.Although the nuns advised Tseyang that her sentence was unlikely to be extended, she becameincreasingly despondent as pressure mounted and hung herself from her bunk in 1995.39