Chinese authorities in Sichuan province have sentenced a Tibetan protester to prison after holding him for nine months during which he was beaten and tortured, according to Tibetan sources in the region and in exile.
Kalsang, a member of the Thangwa Mai Tragyal family, was handed a three-year term and placed in Miyang prison, near the provincial capital of Chengdu, a source in Tibet said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“He was 42 when he was taken away by Chinese police,” the source said.
“He was detained at the Ngaba [in Chinese, Aba] county detention center and was severely beaten and tortured,” the man said. “Then he disappeared for nine months.”
“Only a few days ago, in the first week of January, his family learned that he had been secretly sentenced to three years in jail.”
“His family was not informed of his detention or of the sentence,” a relative living in the U.S. confirmed, also on condition of anonymity. “At first, they did not even know in which prison he was being held.”
“His parents, wife, and three children live in Ngaba. None of his family members were allowed to meet with him. They rely on farming for their livelihood,” the man said.
Kalsang, also called Gonkar, was detained in March following the self-immolation death of Phuntsog, a monk in Ngaba’s Kirti monastery who set himself ablaze in protest against Chinese rule in Tibetan areas.
The fiery protest led to a security crackdown by Chinese forces and the forced removal of about 300 monks from the monastery.
Reported for RFA’s Tibetan service. Translations by Karma Dorjee. Written in English by Richard Finney.