Prison terms for monks

A former political prisoner of 13 years, (name withheld for security reasons) recently fled Tibet, arriving in India in late 1996.

He reported the arrest of three monks from Rabten Monastery in Rong Village under Nagchu, in the beginning of 1996. They were charged for pasting wall posters which condemned the Chinese choice of Panchen Lama and praised the Dalai Lama.

The three arrested were: Lobsang Tenchong, aged 17 years from Maho who was sentenced to five years imprisonment; Lobsang Tharchin, aged 18 years from Gamthong, who was sentenced to four years and Lobsang Tenchong, 18 years old from Maho, who was sentenced to four years. All three are serving their terms in Sangyip Prison.

Prior to their detention they were said to have been publicly paraded on two occasions as a warning to others not to engage in similar “counter- revolutionary” activities.

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