Lobsang Thabkhey was arrested in June 2023 for publishing books from Tibetans in exile.
-by Radio Free Asia
Read RFA coverage of this story in Tibetan.
A Tibetan Buddhist monk who worked as a monastery librarian was sentenced to three years in prison during a “secret” trial, two sources from inside Tibet told Radio Free Asia.
They accused him of possessing and republishing books from the exiled Tibetan community and for having contact with people outside the region when he was in charge of the library at Kirti Monastery in Ngaba county in southwest China’s Sichuan province.
Chinese authorities consider it illegal for Tibetans inside Tibet to contact people outside the region and engage with the exiled Tibetan community or the Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, who China considers a “separatist.”
While the specific charges leveled against Thabkey are unknown, sources said they were likely related to previous charges of publishing “banned books” in Tibet and having contact with “external forces.”
Thabkhey’s family recently learned about the sentence, but authorities did not provide information about the date of the trial or the nature of the charges, said the sources.
According to China’s Criminal Procedure Law, family members of those in custody must be notified within 24 hours of their arrest, except in crimes or cases deemed to be endangering national security where notification may obstruct the investigation. Click here to read more.
