Dharamshala, 7th July: China’s persecution of ethnic minorities has been thrown back into the spotlight, this time in Tibet when a new investigation revealed for the first time that four monks were sentenced to up to 20 years in prison on unknown allegations. According to a 61-page report by Human Rights Watch, Choegyal Wangpo, Lobsang Jinpa, Norbu Dondrup, and Ngawang Yeshe, four monks from Tengdro monastery in Tingri county, were sentenced to 20, 19, 17, and five years in September 2020.
They were caught in 2019 after officials located Choegyal Wangpo’s missing phone. Messages addressed to exiled monks in a sister monastery in Nepal, as well as evidence of humanitarian gifts made in the aftermath of the 2015 earthquake, were discovered on his phone.
According to the report, “the material available regarding the Tengdro case strongly implies that the defendants did not engage in any serious criminal behavior, even as defined by Chinese law.” Tibetans contact people in other countries by phone or text message on a regular basis.”Sending monies abroad… is likely to be watched [by the government], but it is not prohibited in China unless it involves a specific offense such as fraud, communication with an unlawful organization, promoting separatism, or espionage, none of which appear to be implicated in this case.”
The monastery and the neighboring village of Dranak were invaded by local police, who allegedly beat monks and townspeople. They seized 20 monks on suspicion of exchanging letters with Tibetans in other countries, donating to a Nepalese sister monastery, and possessing images or books about the Dalai Lama.
The allegations could be tied to a number of different problems that have gathered in one neighborhood, according to Sophie Richardson, China director of Human Rights Watch. “These apocalyptically strong penalties may be explained by security concerns, border issues, online posts, and connections with Nepal,” she said.
Image source: tibetpost
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