Chinese authorities have released a Tibetan protester jailed for ten years for protesting Beijing’s rule in Tibetan areas, returning him to his family home in southwestern China’s Sichuan province, Tibetan sources say.
Dashar, who had served his full term behind bars but was held for an additional two months before his release, was greeted warmly by relatives and supporters on returning to his home in Sershul county in the Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, his daughter Tenzin Nyidron told RFA’s Tibetan Service.
“He was very happy to be reunited with his mother, and family members and well-wishers welcomed him home by offering him ceremonial scarves,” Nyidron said, speaking from Australia where she now lives.
“Dashar’s prison term expired on March 15, but he was kept in prison for another two months and was released on May 15th. We don’t know what the reasons were for the delay,” she said.
Nyidron said that she had an opportunity to speak briefly with her father on the phone.
“He said that he is fine, and that we shouldn’t worry about him, but he will be seen soon by a doctor in a hospital, so the exact condition of his health should be more clear to us then,” she said.
“He doesn’t look that good to me, though. His face appears to be swollen,” she added.
Sporadic demonstrations challenging Beijing's rule have continued in Tibetan-populated areas of China since widespread protests swept the region in 2008.
Reported by Tashi Wangchuk for RFA’s Tibetan Service. Translated by Dorjee Damdul. Written in English by Richard Finney.