Tibetan rights group demand China to reveal location of detained monks

The Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) has urgently called on Chinese authorities to reveal the whereabouts of four Tibetans subjected to incommunicado detention in Ngaba (Aba), located in the Ngaba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province.

In early September, Chinese officials arbitrarily detained four individuals, including two monks from Kirti Monastery, Lobsang Samten and Lobsang Trinley, alongside Tsering Tashi and Wangkyi. Since their arrest, no information has been provided regarding their location or the specific charges against them.

Lobsang Samten, 53, has been a monk at Kirti Monastery since childhood and is currently a student in the Karampa (Geshe) class. As a junior chant master at the monastery’s Prayer College, he is known for his commitment to monastic studies and previously faced detention in 2011 alongside 300 other monks. Lobsang Trinley, also known as Drenpo, is a monk in his 40s from Rongkhangsar town and plays a significant role in organising ritual ceremonies at Kirti Monastery.

Wangkyi, 43, and Tsering Tashi, 41, are siblings from the Haritsang family in Rongkharsar. Wangkyi is married and has four daughters. Reports suggest that members of the Haritsang family may have been arrested for maintaining contacts in India, although details remain unclear.

According to a source who spoke with TCHRD, “There have been reports of members of the Haritsang family being arrested for maintaining contacts in India, though specific details remain elusive. In recent months, repression in the Ngaba region has intensified, with increased restrictions particularly aimed at Kirti Monastery and nearby villages.

Arbitrary detentions and secret sentencing of Tibetans have become alarmingly frequent. Local Tibetans are being silenced through intimidation, making it increasingly difficult for information to surface. Even those who are released from detention are prohibited from revealing the charges against them or where they were held, further obscuring the truth from the community.”

This incident comes on the heels of China’s closure of two prominent Buddhist monastery schools in July, which forced approximately 1,600 novice monks to enrol in government-run boarding schools. This move is part of a broader campaign aimed at assimilating Tibetan cultural and religious identity and promoting assimilation into the dominant Han Chinese culture.

TCHRD calls on Chinese authorities to immediately cease these arbitrary detentions and to provide accurate information regarding the status and whereabouts of the four detained Tibetans. The organisation urges the international community to raise awareness of the situation and advocate for the rights of the Tibetan people.