September 14, 2024
China has sentenced Lobsang Thabkhey, a 55-year-old Tibetan monk and librarian at Kirti Monastery in Ngaba County, Sichuan Province, to three years in prison for alleged separatist activities, according to a report by the Tibetan service of Radio Free Asia on September 13.
Thabkhey, who was arrested in June 2023, was convicted in a secret trial, with no information disclosed about the trial’s date or the specific charges against him. He was accused of possessing and republishing books from the Tibetan exile community and maintaining contact with “external forces.”
Local sources, who remain anonymous for safety reasons, confirmed that Thabkhey’s family recently learned of his fate, though authorities have not provided details about the trial or sentencing.
Before his arrest, Thabkhey had been repeatedly summoned and interrogated by police over his alleged involvement in separatist activities. The monk hails from Meruma township in Ngaba, an area known for political protests and pro-Tibet activism since 2008.
