Chinese officials have arrested eight more Tibetans including six monks from Dza Wonpo Gaden Shedrup Monastery and two women from Dza Wonpo township, Sershul (Ch: Shiqu) county in Kham Kardze (Ch: Ganzi) on 3 September. The arrests last Friday follow two recent instances where police and military officials arrested and detained 113 for either keeping pictures of His Holiness the Dalai Lama or communicating with Tibetans in exile.

Within two weeks, Chinese authorities in Dza Wonpo township have detained 121 Tibetans including both monks and laypeople. Only four (a monk, a woman, and two men) are known to have been released so far. However, the rest continue to be detained in Sershul county.

The names and details of the eight arrested last Friday are not disclosed yet. According to sources, each one of the monks was led by a group of police and military officials from Dza Mey (lower Dzachukha). The authorities performed thorough searches of their houses before taking them to Sershul county. The two women were also taken to Sershul county.

– Filed by UN, EU and Human Rights Desk/DIIR