DHARAMSHALA: Eight Tibetan students have been sentenced to prison terms ranging from 3 to 4 years by a Chinese court for their role in a peaceful demonstration last year.

The People’s Court in Chabcha (Ch: Gonghe) in Tsolho, northeastern Tibet, sentenced Sangay Bum, Kunsang Bum, Taten, Jampa Tsering, Wangdue Tsering, Choekyong Gyal, Tsering Tashi and Dolar on 10 April.  

Thousands of Tibetan students from Tsolho vocational and handicraft school  held a massive demonstration in November last year, demanding freedom, equality of nationalities and leadership change. More than 15 students were critically injured in the confrontation between the police and the students during the protest, and hundreds were arrested. Local Chinese authorities sealed off the school and deployed hundreds of security officials in the region.

(View last year’s report on the Chabcha demonstration)