Kathmandu – Nine Tibetans who fled their homeland for political freedom were arrested in eastern Nepal for illegally entering the country, officials said on Wednesday.
The arrests this week in Okhaldhunga, 310 kilometers southeast of Kathmandu, bring to 46 the number of Tibetans arrested in the Himalayan kingdom for illegal entry since April.
Wangchuk Tsering, the representative of the Dalai Lama in Kathmandu, said the nine were handed to the Department of Immigration, which transferred them to the custody of the UN High Commission for Refugees for further action.
The Tibetans crossed through Nepal on their way to the northern Indian town of Dharamsala, where a large Tibetan community and their spiritual leader the Dalai Lama lives.
As these Tibetans were handed to the UNHCR and not returned to China, it is likely they will be allowed to travel on to India.
Nepal provoked strong international criticism in May for deciding to expel a group of 18 Tibetan refugees to China, despite appeals by the European Union, the UNHCR and the Tibetan government-in-exile in Dharamsala.
Last month, another group of 19 Tibetans was arrested and handed over to the UNHCR for investigation.
