(TibetanReview.net, Feb21’25) – Chinese authorities are stated to have doubled the prison sentence of a Tibetan activist who had used an online platform to make a defiant criticism of official soft-pedalling in a case of environmental devastation in his village in Sichuan province caused by a well-known Chinese building company. He was stated to have been accused of what has been described as refusing to accept the “charges” against him.
The activist, Tsongon Tsering, 29, was jailed for eight months in Oct 2024 for allegedly “disrupting social order”. He is now under a total of 16-month prison sentence, according to Dharamshala-based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy Feb 20.
The additional sentence was imposed by the Khyungchu County People’s Court in the province’s Ngaba (or Aba, Chinese: Aba) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and he has been transferred to a prison in the prefectural capital Barkham (Maerkang), the centre said.
The activist has been denied any contact with family members, who themselves have been subjected to severe restrictions. The latter have been warned against speaking about his case, with their movements being closely monitored. The latter have also been barred from participating in religious activities during the upcoming Tibetan New Year, the centre said.
Tsongon Tsering, who belongs to the prefecture’s Tsaruma village in Kakhog (Hongyuan) County, had on Oct 14 made an outpouring of videographic allegations that exposed illegal sand and gravel mining being carried out by the road-building Anhui Xianhe Construction Engineering Company, causing severe environmental damage.
He said government authorities were soft-pedalling the case while acknowledging the company’s liability. He and his family were detained after his online video went viral, the centre said.
His case was widely covered by the exile Tibetan groups and media.