Human Rights Watch has released a new report Prosecute Them with Awesome Power: China’s Crackdown on Tengdro Monastery and Restrictions on Communications in Tibet which details the prosecution and prison sentences handed out to four monks, Choegyal Wangpo, Lobsang Jinpa, Norbu Dondrup and Ngawang Yeshe who received sentences of 20, 19, 17 and 5 years respectively following a raid on their monastery in Lhasa. The report says the sentences “reflect the increasing pressure on local officials to restrict online communications and punish peaceful expression as a security threat”.
Norbu Dondrub, 66, chaplain at Tengdro monastery, sentenced to 17 years in prison
Photo: HRW
The 61-page report gives details of the government’s crackdown on the little-known Tengdro monastery. In September 2019, police found private messages on a cell phone which had been lost by Choegyal Wangpo, including messages which had been exchanged with Tibetan monks in Nepal, and records of donations made after the 2015 Nepal earthquake. Despite the fact that sending messages abroad or making humanitarian donations does not violate Chinese law, the police responded with a raid on the monastery that resulted in multiple arrests, a suicide, and, in 2020, a secret trial of the four monks.
Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch said, “The unprecedented sentences of the Tengdro monks reflect a ‘perfect storm’ in Tibet. The Chinese government’s assumption that Tibetan monks and nuns are potential subversives, the heightened border security, and increased restrictions on online communications and religious donations all combined to create a shocking miscarriage of justice.”
Lobsang Jinpa, 45, monk and deputy-leader of Tengdro monastery, sentenced to 19 years in prison.
Photo: HRW
Ngawang Yeshe, 36, monk at Tengdro monastery, sentenced to 5 years in prison
Photo: HRW
HRW reports that since this raid, there have been several reports in the exile Tibetan media of meetings held by local officials in Tibet to threaten residents against contacting relatives outside Tibet. The authorities have also detained and beaten Tibetan netizens for posts deemed by the authorities to “endanger national security.” The Tengdro monks’ case demonstrates the arbitrary and extreme manner in which restrictions on online communications are being enforced throughout Tibetan areas.
HRW calls for the immediate release of the monks, and for concerned governments and the United Nations to pressure the Chinese government to respect Tibetans’ human rights.
Choegyal Wangpo, 48, monk and leader of Tengdro monastery, sentenced to 20 years in prison. Photo: HRW
Sophie Richardson continued, “The horrific treatment of the Tengdro monks points to the Chinese government’s pressure on officials in Tibet to find and punish cases of political subversion – even if the alleged subversion is a figment of their imagination”.
The story has hit the international press, with the UK Guardian reporting in their article “Tibet monks jailed with no apparent evidence of wrongdoing, says HRW”.
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