DHARAMSHALA, JUNE 2: Two monks of Nyatso Zilkar monastery currently serving prison sentences are said to be seriously ill due to torture in prison and deprivation of medical facilities, a Tibetan exile source said.
Tsultrim Kalsang, 27, was sentenced last year to ten years’ imprisonment, and was held at a prison in Xining. He had liver complications for which he was operated upon twice. However, his health has deteriorated further, the Tibetan source said. His mother was denied permission recently to visit him in the prison.
Lobsang Jinpa, 32, sentenced to five years in prison, is also facing serious health issues, according to the same source. He had liver and kidney complications and is denied treatment, the source said, adding that family members of both the monks and fellow villagers are extremely worried about the two monks.
The two had to be hospitalized due to severe torture in prison by Chinese police before their sentencing.
Lobsang and Trultrim were arrested along with three other monks of the Nyatso Zilkar Monastery on September 1, 2012. Lobsang Jinpa is son of Tagyal and Pema Tsomo. Tsultrim Kalsang was born to Athub and Dokar Tso.
The charges against the two are possibly related to the twin self-immolation protest by two Tibetan youths Ngawang Norphel, 22, and Tenzin Khedup, 24, in Dzatoe region on June 30, 2012. Both of them died in their protests.
The initial arrest and the sentencing are believed to have been carried out in connection with the peaceful protests that engulfed the Tridu region on February 8, 2013 when thousands of Tibetans took part in a peaceful protest coinciding with the global solidarity vigil called by the Tibetan government in exile. (CTA)
Around 400 monks from the Zilkar monastery had led the protest march to Zatoe town with banners, written in blue and red ink, symbolic of the two protector deities of Tibet, calling for the Dalai Lama’s return, release of Tibetan political prisoners including the XIth Panchen Lama and respect for Tibetan lives.
