DHARAMSHALA: Continuing its crackdown on Tibetan singers, the Chinese government has sentenced a Tibetan singer to 5 years imprisonment on charges of “spreading information on self-immolation protests and singing politically sensitive songs,” media reports say.

Shao Tashi, a 40-year-old singer, was sentenced by the Intermediate People’s Court in Malho Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (Ch: Huangnan), following a secret trial in jail in Siling, the provincial capital of China’s Qinghai province.

Though the precise details of the court verdict is not known, sources in the region said he was sentenced for “distributing photos of self-immolators, writing last wishes of self-immolators on their photos, taking part in protest against the Chinese government and singing song for Tibetan nationality.”

The singer was detained when a series of self-immolation protests occurred in Rebgong (Ch: Tongren) in November 2012.

Shao Tashi, who has passion for singing since his childhood is popular among his community in Rebgong for his songs, particularly for “Faraway Father”, a song referring to His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Earlier this month, Kelsang Yarphel, a 37-year-old singer, was detained for his song titled “Bhodpa Tso (Fellow Tibetans) whose lyrics were deemed ‘politically subversive’ by the Chinese authorities. He was detained around 14 July this year in Lhasa, the capital of Tibet. He is currently lodged in a detention centre in Chengdu in China’s Sichuan province.

In his song, Kelsang Yarphel exhorts “Tibetans to learn and speak Tibetan, unite three traditional provinces of Tibet and uphold patriotism.”

The DVDs made out of the songs performed at the concert were distributed distributed widely in Tibetan areas in Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. A month later, the Chinese authorities enforced a ban on the sale and distribution of the DVD many of which were confiscated.