Tibetan political prisoner Phagba Kyab released after serving eight years in Chinese prison. Photo/Free Tibet

Dharamshala: According to official sources, Phagba Kyab, a Tibetan political prisoner, held for over eight years in Chinese prison for allegedly pouring petrol on a Tibetan who self-immolated in 2012 was recently released.

Phagpa Kyab, aged 57 from eastern Tibet was jailed for alleged involvement in the self-immolation of Lhamo Tseten. Lhamo Tseten from Amchok, Sangchu County, Kanlho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, self-immolated in front of the local court in Amchok on 26 October 2012.

One month after Tseten’s self-immolation, Kyab was arrested by the Chinese police on 4 December 2012. He was taken into custody and was later sentenced to an eight-year prison term. His family had not been informed when the sentence was passed.

His current condition after the release remains unknown.

“Chinese authorities disappearing and secretly sentencing Tibetans are their key political tool in suppressing the Tibetan dissent in Tibet. The Chinese government has been practising enforced disappearances by detaining incommunicado Tibetans deemed a threat to PRC’s unity and stability,” said Ms Tenzin Dhadon, UN & Human Rights Desk staff.

-Filed by UN, EU & Human Rights Desk