-by Radio Free Asia 

A Tibetan Buddhist monk imprisoned for sending money for prayer offerings to be made to the Dalai Lama and the abbot of India’s Kirti Monastery has been released from jail but remains in poor health, according to two sources in Tibet familiar with the situation.

Rachung Gendun, arrested in April 2021 for allegedly sending donations to the Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader and the monastery abbot, was released on Nov. 16, serving three and a half years in prison.

Chinese authorities consider it illegal for Tibetans to contact exiles. They are particularly sensitive about contacts made with the Dalai Lama, who fled to northern India in 1959 and has been living there ever since.

Tibetans living inside Tibet have faced persecution in the past for sending monetary donations and religious offerings in the name of the Dalai Lama and other Tibetan religious figures.

Many have done so discreetly, risking potential repercussions from Chinese authorities, in a show of their unwavering faith in their spiritual leader despite the Chinese government’s crackdown on Tibetan religious expression.

Gendun is in poor health and is currently undergoing treatment at Hashi Hospital in Chengdu, Sichuan province, said the source inside Tibet, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisals. Click here to read more.