Disappeared monk to be sentenced soon
TibetanReview.net: A Tibetan monk who had been detained off and on over the last six years and remained disappeared since his last arrest on Aug 20, 2011 has been formally charged with having engaged in “splittist activities” and will be sentenced soon, reported RFA.org (Radio Free Asia, Washington) Feb 15. The monk, Jigme Gyatso of Labrang monastery in Kanlho (Chinese: Gannan) prefecture of Gansu province had remained disappeared since his arrest.
At the beginning of February, the monk’s brother Sonam Tsering received a notice dated Jan 2 from Kanlho Public Security Bureau, informing him that Jigme Gyatso had been formally charged with ‘splittist activities’. The monk’s family was invited to respond to the notice within 24 hours, but the notice was a month late.
When the family, nevertheless, hastily contacted the police office, they were told that a decision had already been made and Jigme Gyatso would be sentenced soon. The family was also told that the monk was receiving “medical treatment” in custody.
Jigme Gyatso, also called Jigme Goril, was first detained in 2006 after he returned to his monastery
from a trip to India where he attended a religious teaching given by the Dalai Lama. Released without charge after being questioned for a month, he was again picked up in 2008 and severely beaten. In 2010, he was held for six months in a hotel before being released.
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The report also said that a Tibetan man named Sherab had recently been given a four-and-half-year jail term for “rebelling” against the Chinese government during the Tibetan uprising in Mar-Apr 2008. The Dzoege county native was a traffic policeman in Machu county of Kanlho Prefecture, Sichuan Province, at the time.
When Tibetans in Machu rose against Chinese rule in 2008, Sherab “went to the Tibetan side and attacked the Chinese police.” As a result he was detained in May or Jun 2008 and remained disappeared ever since.
Sherab was a monk for a while and later joined the Chinese police force, in which he served for four years, the report added.
At the beginning of February, the monk’s brother Sonam Tsering received a notice dated Jan 2 from Kanlho Public Security Bureau, informing him that Jigme Gyatso had been formally charged with ‘splittist activities’. The monk’s family was invited to respond to the notice within 24 hours, but the notice was a month late.
When the family, nevertheless, hastily contacted the police office, they were told that a decision had already been made and Jigme Gyatso would be sentenced soon. The family was also told that the monk was receiving “medical treatment” in custody.
Jigme Gyatso, also called Jigme Goril, was first detained in 2006 after he returned to his monastery
from a trip to India where he attended a religious teaching given by the Dalai Lama. Released without charge after being questioned for a month, he was again picked up in 2008 and severely beaten. In 2010, he was held for six months in a hotel before being released.
* * *
The report also said that a Tibetan man named Sherab had recently been given a four-and-half-year jail term for “rebelling” against the Chinese government during the Tibetan uprising in Mar-Apr 2008. The Dzoege county native was a traffic policeman in Machu county of Kanlho Prefecture, Sichuan Province, at the time.
When Tibetans in Machu rose against Chinese rule in 2008, Sherab “went to the Tibetan side and attacked the Chinese police.” As a result he was detained in May or Jun 2008 and remained disappeared ever since.
Sherab was a monk for a while and later joined the Chinese police force, in which he served for four years, the report added.
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