DHARAMSHALA: Lobsang Gedun, a 21-year-old Tibetan monk of Drongsar monastery in Chamdo, has been sentenced to ten years in prison by a local Chinese court last week, according to information received from Tibet.

Gendun was taken into custody on July 1, 2013, after he disrupted celebrations in Pashoe (Basu) county organised by the Chinese Communist Party by shouting slogans “Long Live His Holiness the Dalai Lama” and “Tibet is an independent country”. Since then, he has been detained for more than a year in various prisons.

“Gendun have called up his relatives on 12 September to inform them that ha has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. However, he has given no information about the jail or detention center where he will be locked up to serve his sentence,” an exile Tibetan with close contacts in the region said.

Gendun’s elder brother went to Chamdo after hearing the news about  the sentence, to try to learn where his brother would be taken. However, its not clear whether he was able to meet him or not.

Earlier in January this year, Gendun’s parents were summoned by Chinese authorities to coerce their son  to confess to his alleged crimes. Gendun has refused to confess to having committed any crime, and instead asserted his innocence. “He further called on the Chinese authorities to confess their guilt in their own faulty policies in Tibet,” the source added.

Gendun has reportedly told his parents during their meeting in January that he was beaten and tortured severely while in Chinese custody. His health was also reported to be deteriorating.

The situation inside Tibet continues to remain tense since the widespread uprising of 2008. At least 130 Tibetans have set themselves on fire since 2009 in protest against the Chinese government’s repressive policies in Tibet.