Dharamshala, 13th January: Sangay Tso’s family discovers her in a hotel, unable to walk, a week after she was arrested. After being unlawfully jailed for more than ten months, Sangay Tso, a co-founder of a chat group, was freed in a critical health state. Sangay Tso, a university student, was detained in Kyegudo, Yushul Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, on February 17, 2021, together with two other Tibetans, Dadul and Kansi (nicknames). The three teenagers appear to have been imprisoned for failing to register their WeChat group with local authorities, despite the fact that no formal cause was given at the time of their arrest and release.

On the 15th of December, according to freetibet.org, a local source confided them, “authorities called Sangay Tso’s family and asked them to pick her up after her health deteriorated to a critical level. She was kept alone in a hotel room (Kyegu Shensung Hotel) before her family arrived to pick her up. They found her in poor health and she is barely able to walk. They immediately took her to the public hospital of Kyegudo and is undergoing medical treatment”.

The discussion group had not been registered with the Chinese authorities, as required by law. Anyone who wants to start a chat group in China must first register with the local authorities, according to the Chinese Communist Party. When a chat group is created, a member of the CCP-aligned surveillance group must be added to the group.

The chat group’s name, which translates as White Rocky Mountain Club, comes from the name of a local deity and life-supporting mountain in the area, according to the same source. It was founded by a group of nomads on Losar, the Tibetan New Year, which began on February 12, 2021, and already boasts around 240 members from three Tibetan regions.

Three of them were apprehended at their residence in Domda Town, Kyegudo, Yushul Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, by security officers. Dadul was viciously beaten and left with damaged legs when they were apprehended in early March of this year. The authorities summoned his family, instructing them to bring no more than two family members and 40,000 yuan (about 6,000 dollars) to the hospital, ostensibly to pay for surgery. His family was threatened with dire consequences if they told anyone about the situation. Details concerning Kansi’s health and whereabouts are still unknown.

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