The Intermediate People’s Court in the Tibetan
capital gives Jampel Wangchuk and Kunchok Nyima
life and 20 years in prison respectively. Both
took part in the March 2008 anti-Chinese
protests. The crackdown against Tibetan Buddhism continues.
Asia News
October 8, 2010

Lhasa -- Tibetan monks continue to endure
arrests, torture and prison. The Lhasa
Intermediate People’s Court gave two Drepung
monks, Jampel Wangchuk and Kunchok Nyima, a life
sentence and a 20 years prison term respectively,
for their involvement in street protests in March
2008 that Chinese soldiers drowned in blood, this
according to the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).

On 10 March 2008, around 350 monks from Drepung
Monastery (one of Tibet’s three great
monasteries) started a protest, setting off on a
march towards nearby Lhasa City to protest
restrictions imposed by ethnic Han Chinese on Tibetans.

Police stopped the monks before they could reach
their destination, forcing them back. They also
detained some and deported others to their provinces of origin.

A month later (11 April 2008), Jampel Wangchuk
and Kunchok Nyima were arrested. Since then,
their whereabouts remained unknown until they
were sentenced in June 2010 by the court in Lhasa.

In the meantime, Drepung Monastery has remained a
target for the authorities. A 60-member work team
led by top officials has been stationed in the
institution to conduct political re-education classes for the monks.