17th August: According to RFA’s Tibetan accounts, police in western China’s Qinghai province stopped a group of Tibetans on the road in a random search on Sunday, forcing one who opposed the search into a river, where he subsequently died and shooting another who tried to assist.
According to RFA, a Tibetan living in the area told them on Monday that Rigdrak, 50, and Sherab Gyatso, 26, were returning to Domda hamlet in the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture with a group of other motorists when they were stopped on the road by Chinese police in plain clothes.
“Neither of them was aware that the officers carrying out the inspection were actually police, so Rigdrak confronted one of the officers, demanding to know which department he belonged to and why they were being stopped and searched” the source added on condition of anonymity as per RFA.
“Enraged, the officer pushed Rigdrak off the road and into the Drichu River,” according to the RFA’s source, referring to the Tibetan name for the Yangtse River, which originates in Tibet’s highlands.
“Local Tibetans later searched for Rigdrak’s body in the river but never found him,” he claimed, adding that Rigdrak is survived by his wife, Sangmo, and two daughters.
Sherab Gyatso, a passenger with five family members in Domda, also confronted police and was shot, but is currently being treated at a local hospital and is no longer in danger, according to the source.
According to previous reports, Chinese police have been randomly searching Tibetans in the Yushu area, also known as Kyegudo, since July, giving special attention to social media and messaging apps on mobile phones.
According to a RFA, as per their source in Yushu, three men were arrested on Aug. 8 for uploading images on social media despite increased security for the 70th anniversary of Yushu prefecture’s creation.
The men, identified as Rinchen Dorje and Kelsang Nyima from Domda village and Lhundup from Dza Sershul, were detained by police conducting random inspections in the area, according to the source, and were accused of sharing photos of local events on the WeChat social media platform with Tibetans living in exile.
During anniversary activities, police stationed in Kyegudo town’s market square conducted inspections, and streets and playgrounds were also under surveillance, according to the source.
China has placed stringent communication restrictions in Tibet and Tibetan-populated areas of western Chinese provinces in order to halt the flow of news about protests or other politically sensitive material to Tibetans in exile and other outside connections.
Tibetans’ political activities and peaceful expressions of cultural and religious identity are restricted by Chinese authorities, who subject Tibetans to persecution, torture, imprisonment, and extrajudicial killings.
Picture Source: RFA
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