Last week, relatives of Tibetan monk Jampa Choephel from Rebkong received confirmation that he had been sentenced to 18 months in jail last August. The family had not been previously informed of the trial or the decision. Rebgong, part of historical Tibet, is now the capital of the Huangnan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Qinghai province.
Jampa’s “crime” was sharing the Dalai Lama’s teachings on WeChat Moment. He is currently detained in Xining City, the capital of Qinghai.
The monk was arrested at his monastery in mid-March for allegedly “sharing sensitive information” on March 10, the anniversary of Tibet’s uprising. The “sensitive information” was, in fact, teachings by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Detained in a Rebkong prison since March 22, Jampa Choephel was sentenced to 18 months in August and moved to Xining on September 22 to serve his term. Chinese authorities did not inform his family about the arrest and prosecution and threatened them against inquiring about his situation. Voice of Tibet had reported on the sentence, which has now been confirmed.
Jampa Choephel had been monitored by Chinese Communist Party authorities for years, especially around Tibetan Uprising Day. He went to India in 1986, studied at Dharamsala Debate College, and returned to Tibet in 1996. Since then, he has practiced Buddhism in Rebgong monasteries, gone on pilgrimages, and taught English and Tibetan calligraphy to other monks.
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