Monk sentenced to 18-month imprisonment in Tibet

Dharamsala, November 30

Lobsang Choephel, a Tibetan monk from Kirti Monastery in Ngaba in Tibet, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison by the Chinese authorities in early October 2022, a Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) release said here today, quoting a reliable source.

The CTA said according to the source, the Chinese authorities arrested him in summers this year and held him in custody until he was sentenced in October. At this time, the source says the reason for his arrest, as well as his current location and well-being, remain unknown.

In 2011, Lobsang Choephel was arrested for resisting and protesting against the “patriotic education campaign” or “legal education” that the Chinese authority had forced on monks along with an indefinite ban on normal religious activities at the monastery said the Central Tibetan Administration.

The CTA further said as part of the patriotic education session, Tibetans are forced to denounce the Dalai Lama.

Lobsang Choephel hails from Chakhog Chukleygap in the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Ngaba, in the traditional province of Amdo. His parents are Gatse and Nekyi, and since childhood he has been a monk in Kirti Monastery. His younger brother Lobsang, a monk at Kirti monastery, had previously been imprisoned by the Chinese police, the CTA release said.