(TibetanReview.net, Nov02’21) – Like in so many cases under Chinese occupation rule, a Tibetan monk jailed in 2015 for allegedly inciting separatism has been admitted to hospital after completing his five-year jail sentence in Ngaba (Chinese: Aba) County of what is now part of China’s Sichuan Province. And he still remains under severe curtailment of his freedoms, said freetibet.org Oct 30, citing its research partner Tibet Watch.
Gendun Dapaka, a 45-year-old monk of the county’s Thangkor Socktsang Monastery, was released in August but had to be taken to hospital due to the severity of his health condition.
The London-based Free Tibet campaign group said the monk’s exact health condition could not be ascertained due to tight communication restrictions being imposed in the area by the Chinese government.
Although he has completed his jail sentence, the monk is still in a sort of indefinite parole. He is required to report to the local police station every month while he and his family remain under heightened state surveillance, the group said.
Dapaka was taken away with another monk, named Lobsang Sherab, from their room in Thangkor Socktsang Monastery on Aug 24, 2015. After being held incommunicado for over a year, the two monks were sentenced in a secret trial without any procedural fairness, charged with “inciting separatism” and “sharing information with Tibetans in exile”, with Sherab getting four years.
The monks were accused of having shared information about a series of peaceful protests carried out by residents of the local Ka Bharma Village against government takeover of their land.
The takeover, which had taken place in 2010, involved over 400 acres of land and affected the homes of 20 families. The local Chinese government had claimed that the purpose was to build eco-friendlier rural areas. However, the plan was later abandoned and the land leased to private businesses instead of being returned to the affected villagers.
