Two senior Tibetan monastery leaders had been sentenced to jail by Chinese authorities for participating in the 2024 protests against Beijing’s proposed hydropower dam project, according to Radio Free Asia (RFA).
According to anonymous sources cited by RFA, the first leader, Sherab — the abbot of Yena Monastery — received a four-year prison sentence. The monastery’s chief administrator, Gonpo Tsering, was sentenced to three years. It is unknown when exactly the monks were sentenced.
Gonpo was reportedly in critical condition after being tortured during his detention. Reports indicate he was transferred to the intensive care unit at West China Hospital in Chengdu. Sources said he sustained severe brain injuries, resulting in the loss of his eyesight and his ability to speak or swallow. He is also said to be experiencing breathing difficulties.
The two senior monks from Yena Monastery were among those arrested in Feb. 2024, alongside hundreds of Tibetan monks and local residents, for opposing the construction of the Gangtuo dam on the Drichu River (known as Jinsha in Chinese).
During the protests, they urged authorities to halt the project, expressing fears that it would force them from their homes and submerge centuries-old monasteries.
Success
You are now signed up for our newsletter
Success
Check your email to complete sign up
In a video uploaded in 2024, Sherab was seen showing his thumbs up in the traditional Tibetan begging gesture as he pleaded to officials on Feb. 20.
Sources to RFA said those who were apprehended were badly beaten during questioning. While most were released a month after the protests, significant figures who took part, including monastery and village leaders, were taken to a larger detention facility.
READ MORE:
- China’s Guangxi Deluged By Flood-Waters From Upstream Province
- Top US Official in Hong Kong Criticizes CCP’s National Security Law as He Leaves the City
- The Hidden Hand: How Xi Jinping Is Quietly Fueling the Iran Nuclear Crisis
Crackdown on dissent
The Gangtuo dam is part of Beijing’s plans to build a 13-tier hydropower complex on the Drichu River, which aims to produce a total capacity of 13,920 megawatts. China’s major hydropower projects have been constructed on rivers that start from the Tibet Autonomous Region and stretch into Tibetan-populated areas in China.
The project has been criticised for the possible damages it could bring to both the people and the environment, including mass displacements and the destruction of sacred monasteries.
“The Chinese government has been planning for the past decade to dam the Drichu River near Wangbuding in Dege County with the aim of building a large hydroelectric plant,” a Tibetan living in exile said. “Now the project has formally begun, which means that both the villages and six monasteries in the upper district of Wangbuding area will have to be relocated.”
With the Gangtuo dam project underway, the Drichu River had been heavily monitored ever since the protests ended. Travel restrictions affecting both monks and local residents have limited access to the monasteries near the river, RFA reported.
According to a special rapporteurs letter by the United Nations (UN), concerns have been raised over the “irreversible impact” of the dam on Tibet and its residents. The letter also stated that residents were not “consulted in a meaningful way,” and were given obsolete information not in the Tibetan language.
Checkpoints are set up between areas in Sichuan and the Tibet Autonomous Region, blocking Tibetans from entering or exiting unless they have transit permits issued by the police.
“The whole area has been effectively sealed off, with nearly 4,000 residents and monks in the villages and monasteries near the river in a state of collective imprisonment, having lost all freedom of movement,” one source said.
Sources indicate that, during politically sensitive periods declared by Beijing — including the anniversary of the Tibetan Uprising or the Dalai Lama’s birthday — Tibetans without local household registration are denied entry, while villagers from rural areas traveling to the Dege county seat must apply for transit permits — which are frequently rejected.
