(TibetanReview.net, Oct19’22) – The Chinese court in the eastern Tibetan area of Kardze (Chinese: Ganzi) which is now part of China’s Sichuan Province has recently jailed six local residents who are writers and political activists for four to 14 years for allegedly “inciting separatism” and “endangering state security,” reported the Tibetan Service of rfa.org Oct 18, citing an exile Tibetan source with local contacts.
They were stated to have been sentenced in September by the Chinese court of Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. All had remained incommunicado for periods ranging from one to two years after their arrests. Their trials and sentencings were also carried out in secrecy.
“Because of tight restrictions and constant scrutiny inside Tibet, it is very difficult now to learn more detailed information about their current health conditions or where they are being held,” the report quoted Golog Jigme, a former political prisoner under Chinese rule now living in Switzerland, as saying.
Gangkye Drupa Kyab, a writer and former schoolteacher, has received the heaviest sentence of 14 years, followed by Tsering Dolma and Samdup, both political activists, who have been jailed for eight years each. Gangbu Yudrum, a political activist has been jailed for 7 years and Seynam, a writer and environmental activist, has been jailed for 6 years. And Pema Rinchen, a writer, has been jailed for four years.
They were stated to have been jailed earlier too for similar alleged offences that challenged China’s official position and narratives on the issue of Tibet defined by President Xi Jinping’s campaign to Sinicize the ethnic minority regions.