Phuntsog, 20, immolated himself on March 16, the 3rd anniversary of a protest at Kirti in 2008 during which at least 10 Tibetans were shot dead. Police extinguished the flames and were seen beating Phuntsog before he died, according to Tibetan exiles in contact with Tibetans in the area. Phuntsog shouted slogans including “May His Holiness the Dalai Lama lives for 10,000 years!”
The protest broke out later against the Chinese authorities by hundreds of monks and laypeople. Police broke up the protests, detaining an unknown number of monks and beating Tibetans involved.
An account of the aftermath of the self-immolation: Kirti monks intervened when police were beating Phuntsog and took him back to the monastery before ensuring he received medical treatment. The Chinese authorities’ official statement included the false claim that the monks “forcibly took [Phuntsog] out of the hospital.”