DHARAMSHALA, March 5: Reports have emerged out of Tibet of a sentencing of a Tibetan monk to three years in prison by a Chinese court in Sichuan province. Lobsang Soepa, 43-year-old monk of Drenpa monastery in Dzoege County, was sentenced on June 30, 2013 for his alleged involvement in anti-China protests, said Tamdin Kyab, an exile Tibetan having close contacts inside Tibet.
Kyab said Lobsang was detained on January 18, last year for his alleged “role in a protest demanding the release of another monk.” He is currently serving his prison term in a jail in Marthang County, said Kyab.
He was earlier detained for six months on January 15, 2011 for distributing leaflets calling for the return of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to Tibet in Changtsa Township.
Soepa is a native of Changtsa Choegyal village in Dzoege County.
Soepa had travelled to India in 1992, 2005 and 2006 and had audiences with the Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama. On his return from India, he initiated campaigns against use of animal fur by Tibetans after the Tibetan leader spoke against it use at a religious gathering in South India.
