Chinese authorities had sentenced three Tibetans including a father of two to varied prison terms five years ago in Sangchu (Ch: Xiahe) County in Kanlho (Ch: Gannan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai Province, according sources inside Tibet.
The sentences were passed in 2009 in the aftermath of the 2008 uprising in Tibet, but due to the security clampdown and tightened control over information, their fate has remained unknown till today.
Rigzin Tsering, 40, had been sentenced to 12 years in prison, while Nyingchak Gyal, 44, and Tashi Tsering, 33, had been sentenced to five and seven years in prison respectively.
Rigzin Tsering, who hails from Rongtsa Village in Sangchu County, was arrested in April 2008 by the Chinese security forces. He was immediately taken to Sangchu County town, where he disappeared for almost a year.
He was sentenced to 12 years in prison on 24 April 2009. He is being locked up in a prison in Tian Shui (天水市) city in Gansu Province.