(TibetanReview.net, Mar 21, 2009) — Chinese police in Sangchu County of Gansu province have again arrested a monk from the local Labrang Monastery whom it had earlier held on Mar 23, 2008 for having assisted in filming interviews on life under Chinese rule and released on Oct 15, 2008. Jigme Gyatso alais Golog Jigme, 40, was taken away from his room in Labrang Monastery at about 4am around Mar 10 and his whereabouts remain unknown since then, reported Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) Mar 17.
No reason was given for his arrest. He was severely tortured during his previous arrest, when he passed out several times.
With Dhondup Wangchen from Bayan (Chinese: Hualong) county in Qinghai Province, Jigme had, from Oct 2007 to early Mar 2008, filmed interviews with ordinary Tibetans on their views about the Dalai Lama, China’s policies in Tibet and the Olympic Games. The footage was then smuggled out and a documentary titled “Leaving Fear Behind” was produced from it in Switzerland. The film has been widely screened across the world since then, including secretly during the Beijing Olympics and on the sideline of the United Nation Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Dhondup Wangchen was arrested on Mar 26, 2008 and was held at several places for different lengths of time; his current whereabouts remain unknown. Visit www.leavingfearbehind.com for the documentary and related information.