kelsang choklang

Dorje Dragtsel has been sentenced to 11 years in prison.

A Tibetan youth has died in police custody soon after his arrest in Diru (Ch: Biru) County in Nagchu (Ch: Naqu) Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR).

Konchok Dakpa, a youth from Chamram Village in Diru Township was held incommunicado for weeks since his arrest in December 2013. On 20 January 2014, his body was returned to his family who were given strict orders not to discuss the death with others. Sources with contacts in Diru said Konchok Dakpa was severely beaten and tortured during his secret detention, indicating that his death was the direct result of police torture. Local Tibetans believe that he was most likely punished for his participation in May 2013 protest against Chinese mining at the sacred Naglha Dzamba Mountain.

Senior Buddhist master and scholar Ngawang Jampel

China’s relentless crackdown in Diru (Ch: Biru) County in the name of Xi Jinping’s ‘mass line’ policy has claimed another Tibetan life, even as sources from Tibet continue to report on increasing number of arbitrary arrests and secret detention.

According to information received by TCHRD, a senior Tibetan Buddhist scholar known for his keen intelligence and mediation skills died while being detained in police custody. Ngawang Jampel aka Ngawang Jamyang, 45, was among the three monks from Tarmoe Monastery who were detained on 23 November 2013 while on a vacation in Lhasa. The second monk has now been identified as Kelsang Choklang (see photo) while the identity of the third monk remains unknown as he continues to be secretly detained. Kelsang Choklang’s whereabouts remain unknown.

Ngawang Jampel’s graduation certificate (see photo) shows his name in English as Ngawang Jampel but his Tibetan name is being spelled as Ngawang Jamyang.

A source with contacts in Diru told TCHRD that on 17 December 2013, less than a month after his secret detention, Buddhist scholar and master Ngawang Jampel died following which the police lost no time in handing over the body to Ngawang Jampel’s family. “It was clear that Ngawang Jampel was beaten to death while in secret detention. He was a healthy, robust man when he left his monastery to visit Lhasa,” said the source.

Tag: kelsang choklang

Repression escalates in Tibet’s Diru County: Tibetan youth beaten to death, 2 others given heavy sentences and another disappeared

Diru Crackdown: Senior Tibetan Buddhist scholar beaten to death in police custody