Beijing: China has sentenced two Tibetan monks to at least three years in prison for possessing photographs of the Dalai Lama. They were convicted for committing the act of "separatism".
"Since 2021, the Chinese government has been aggressively inspecting each and every home and threatening Tibetans, telling them that possessing photos of the Dalai Lama is as felonious as possessing arms and guns," said sources.
Dalai Lama is Tibet's foremost Buddhist spiritual leader and he has been in exile since 1959. While he has maintained that he is not pushing for the independence of Tibet, he wants autonomy that will allow Tibetans to preserve their culture, language, and religion. The Chinese government considers him a "separatist".
Two of the monks arrested in September 2020 are named Tenzin Dhargye and Rigtse. Sources say several other monks have been arrested with him. Dhargye got three years and six months in prison. Rigtse is sentenced to three years.
Both monks were among the 250 devotees living at the Barong monastery in Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture's Sershul county. They were arrested after finding photos of the Dalai Lama on their phones.
The monks were in jail for the past two years. Their families were not allowed to see them and no one knows how fair their trial was. They were convicted by the People's Court in Sershul county, reported RFA.
"Tibetans are threatened by the Chinese authorities. So they do not share or discuss any information about them. We don't know about their health or which prison they are detained in.," said sources.