DHARAMSHALA, January 26: A Tibetan monk of Drilda Monastery in Sog County has been sentenced to ten years in prison. The exact date of the sentencing, however, is not known.
Tsewang, a monk of Drilda Monastery in Trido town, was arrested on the night of March 17, 2014, along with three others, Tsangyang Gyatso, Atse and Gyalsten. Tsangyang Gyatso, who was also the chantleader, was sentenced to 12 years in prison in October 2014. A Tibetan source said he could be charged for “separatist” motives and “plot” to protest against the government, a very common charge against Tibetans political prisoners.
Tsewang’s aged mother, who lives alone in Trido, has been kept away from the news of his sentencing, the same source said.
Six other monks of the same monastery were severely beaten after they had approached the authorities with an appeal to release the four monks on March 19.
Weeks before four monks’ arrest the authorities had rounded up five other Tibetans for sharing “banned contents” on micro-messaging service WeChat and four on suspicion of their involvement in painting a graffiti reading “Tibet is an independent” on an iron bridge near the town.
