khenpo jigme phuntsok

16/07/2014 News

Monk released after 6 years of incarceration for ‘leaking state secrets’

Ngagchung of Larung Gar Buddhist Institute of Sertha

A Tibetan monk was released recently after completing a six-year sentence for sharing information about human rights abuses perpetrated by Chinese security forces during the height of 2008 Tibetan uprising in Serthar (Ch: Seda) County, Kardze (Ch: Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province, according to information received by Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).

Ngagchung, who was a monk at Larung Gar Buddhist Institute prior to his imprisonment, was released on 8 July 2014 after the completion of his 6-year sentence. He is said to be in poor health and suffers from damaged vision.

No other details are available on the current status and condition of Ngagchung as local authorities in Serthar County have blocked all communication lines including phone and Internet.

24/03/2010 News

Chinese court sentences Serthar monk to lengthy prison term

A Chinese Intermediate People’s court in Sichuan Province has sentenced a Tibetan monk, who remained incommunicado since his arrest in July 2008, to seven years in prison and deprivation of political rights for a year, according to confirmed information received by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).

The Kardze Intermediate People’s Court in Sichuan Province had sentenced Ngagchung (only one name), 39-year-old monk of Larung Gar Buddhist Institute of Serthar, Sertha County, Kardze “Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture” (‘TAP’) to seven years in prison and deprivation of political rights for a year in January this year. There is no information on the exact date of the court trial, under what charges he was convicted or whether he was given any legal rights guarantee under the Chinese constitution and international laws.

07/01/2004 News

Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, Abbot of Serthar Buddhist Institute Dies

TCHRD received confirmed information that Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok, the Founder Abbot of Serthar Buddhist Institute died in the evening of 6 January 2004 in a hospital in Chengdu City, Sichuan Province. Khenpo was 72 years old. It is reported that he died in the military hospital “363” where he was earlier receiving medical treatment.

As per earlier information received by TCHRD, Khenpo Jigme Phuntsok was to undergo heart surgery at the same hospital at 10 AM (China time) on 29 December 2003.

It has also been reported that Chinese “work team” officials, stationed at the Institute since 2000, left the Institute in the morning of 7 January 2004.

19/04/2002 News

Smuggled Film Shows Destruction of Serthar Institute

The Tibetan Centre of Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) today screened for the first time a 10-minute documentary showing the massive destruction of Serthar Larung Gar Buddhist Institute in Sichuan Province in Tibet. The documentary was made from film footage smuggled out from Tibet by ex-residents of the Institute.

Serthar Institute, also known as Larung Gar, is located in Karze “Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture”, Sichuan Province. Until last year it was Tibet’s largest Buddhist Institute. Serthar’s non-sectarian academic teachings by Khenpo (abbot) Jigme Phuntsok attracted Buddhist scholars from all around the world, including mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Korea. It was also home to a large number of Tibetan monks, nuns and lay-people. Total population before the current crackdown was well over 8,000.

10/12/2001 News / Thematic Reports

Destruction of Serthar Institute: A Special Report

The summer and autumn of 2001 saw the dismantling of the leading centre for Buddhist scholarship and practice on the Tibetan plateau. In the 21 years of its existence, Serthar Institute (known as Larung Gar) had expanded from a solitary mountain hermitage to a spiritual oasis for over 8,000 monks, nuns, and lay students. Khenpo Jigme Phunstok founded Sertahr Institute…