Tibetan monk jailed for nine years for 2008 uprising released

A Tibetan monk was released after nine years from Mianyang prison late last week in Sichuan Province.

Tsultrim Gyatso, 52, former chant master at Achok Tsenyi Monastery was arrested after leading a protest during the 2008 uprising in Tibet.

He was welcomed to his native home at midnight on the day of his release. Tsultrim Gyatso is pictured holding a portrait of Tibetan Nobel Peace laureate His Holiness the Dalai Lama. Gyatso is seen in an another photo with his prison mate Ludrub Tendar and a well known Tibetan intellectual Jangtse Dhonkho aka Nyen, who came to welcome him at his home.

Tsultrim Gyatso along with four other monks were detained and sentenced to varying terms under the charges of carrying out separatist activities and following orders of the “Dalai Clique”.

On 28 October 2008, the Barkham County Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Gyatso to nine years in prison and Ludrub Tendar, 43, was sentenced to 7 years. He was released in 2015 after completing his sentence term. Whereas monk Sonam was released a year after his detention. Monk Ludrub Yeshi, 33, sentenced to 13 years and six months and Ludrub Phuntsok, 23, was sentenced to 13 years and is believed to be serving their sentence terms in prison.

TCHRD has previously reported that, on 19 March 2008, scores of Tibetan monks from Achok Tsenyi Monastery in Achok Township, Marthang (Ch: Hongyuan) County in Ngaba (Ch: Aba) Tibetan and Qiang Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, staged a peaceful protest which was later joined by many common citizens of Achok Township. The protesters marched towards the Township government headquarter in the main market area where protesters brought down the Chinese national flag and replaced with the banned Tibetan national flag in its place at the government headquarters. The protesters shouted slogans calling for the “return of the Dalai Lama” and “freedom in Tibet”. The local Public Security Bureau (PSB) officers demanded protesters to call off the demonstration, but the protesters continued. Truckloads of armed police were brought into the main market area to quell the protesters.

Chant master Tsultrim Gyatso was born in 1966 to Dawatsang family, Camp no. 2 of Abhoe village in Meruma Township, Ngaba County.

He was enrolled at the Achok Tsenyi Monastery at the young age of 16 and is believed to have joined back to his monastery on 3 April 2017.