A Tibetan monk imprisoned for six years for opposing Chinese rule in Tibet has passed away.
Geshe Tenzin Palsang died after suffering from failing health following his release from prison in 2018,, reports said .
He was a resident of Draggo county in Sichuan’s Kardze (Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and passed away in September after his health condition suddenly turned worse, Washington-based media outlet RFA reported citing a source inside Tibet.
The source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for security reasons, said Geshe Tenzin Palsang’s condition turned worse due to the “torture in prison and lack of medical care” following his release.
“This was due to the torture he suffered in prison and lack of medical care and lack of medical care after his release,” a source confirmed.
Palsang, a monk at Draggo monastery, was detained on April 2, 2012, on charges of organizing a demonstration challenging China’s rule. He briefly disappeared until he was sentenced to six years in prison for his alleged participation in the protest, the report cited source.
The report cited the source as saying that Chinese authorities constantly harassed and surveilled him even after his release from prison in April 2018.
Speaking to media , a Tibetan living in exile said that Geshe Tenzin Palsang in 2012 openly urged Chinese authorities to put an end to their “repressive policies in Tibet and their genocide and persecution of the Tibetan people.”
The source, who spoke anonymously to protect his contacts in Tibet, claimed that Palsang had called for giving the right to freedom of speech and religion to Tibetans in Draggo, RFA reported.
The source further said that Geshe Tenzin Palsang’s health condition at the time of his release from prison was “so severe” that he required support for standing up.
“He also demanded that Tibetans in Draggo be given the right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion,” the source said.
