DHARAMSHALA:The British government on Monday expressed its condolences and solidarity with the death in prison of Tulku Tenzin Delek Rinpoche.

“We are saddened by reports that Tenzin Delek Rinpoche has died in detention in China,” a spokeswoman for Britain’s Foreign Office said in a statement.

“We raised his case with Chinese authorities on a number of occasions, including during the UK-China Human Rights Dialogue in April this year.”

Hugo Swire, a minister at the Foreign Office responsible for Asia, had expressed concerns about Tenzin Delek Rinpoche’s health and had urged the Chinese authorities to consider him for medical parole, she added.

Tulku Tenzin Delek Rinpoche died on Sunday, 12 July in Chuandong prison in the southwestern city of Chengdu.