22 January 2013
Dharamshala: A local Chinese court in Barkham, in the eastern region of Tibet Ngaba, has sentenced four monks of the Kirti Tsodun monastery to prison terms ranging from 2 a 10 years. Confirmed reports from Tibet suggest that Asung, of 22 years, He was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, while Lobsang Senge, 19, Yarphel, 18 y Namsey, 18, were sentenced to two, six and ten years, respectively.
Lobsang Senge, Yarphel and Namsey were first arrested during a nighttime raid on Kirti Monastery., in August 2012. Asung was later arrested, he 18 of the same month in a similar attack at night in the monastery. The reasons for his arrest have not been made known by the Chinese authorities..
Previously, Chinese authorities also detained Thubwang Tenzin, A monk of 20 years, and Rabten, a religious administrator of the Kirti monastery, without any specific reason. His whereabouts are currently unknown..
The Kirti Monastery has been the breeding ground for Tibetan self-immolations against brutal Chinese policies. The monastery has been under strict Chinese surveillance for the past two years after monks repeatedly set themselves on fire protesting against the Chinese government..
Unconfirmed reports also suggest that the arrest of the four monks could be a response to Tempa Dargey's self-immolations., Palden Chimey and Lozin Lobsang, all monks from the Kirti monastery who set themselves on fire last year, calling for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet and freedom for Tibetans.
