-Radio Free Asia
Authorities have maintained a tight watch over monks and locals in Drago county.
Eleven Tibetans beaten and arrested by Chinese authorities in January for spreading news of the destruction of a 99-foot-tall Buddha statue and dozens of prayer wheels in southwestern China’s Sichuan province have been sent to labor camps in the region, Tibetans with knowledge of the situation said Friday.
Monks Tashi Dorjee, Tsering Samdup, Nyima Lhamo, and Abbot Pelga, along with Pelga’s assistant Nyima, and six other unidentified Tibetans were arrested following the destruction of the statue and 45 traditional prayer wheels in Drago (Luhuo) county of Kardze (in Chinese, Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in December 2021, said a Tibetan in exile who declined to be named for safety reasons.
“[They] are still being held in Chinese custody and now have been sent to labor camps,” he told RFA.
The 11 were arrested on suspicion of sending news and photos of the statue’s destruction — reported exclusively by RFA in early January — to contacts outside the region.
“A few of them also sustained injuries from beatings and torture, though much about their current conditions remain unknown,” the Tibetan in exile said. Click here to read more.