DHARAMSHALA, April 4: A Tibetan political prisoner named Tsering Lhagon from Sog has been released from a Chinese prison on March 23, Ngawang Tharpa, a Tibetan in exile with close contacts in the region, said.
Lhagon was arrested along with four monks of Sog Tsenden Monastery, Khedup, Yeshi Tenzin, Ngawang Gyurmey, Tenzin Choewang and a lay person Thagru Yeshi on March 17, 2000.
They were arrested for allegedly distributing and pasting leaflets that read “May His Holiness live long,” “Tibet is independent,” and “Chinese out of Tibet.”
In 2000, Sog County People’s Intermediate court sentenced Tsering Lhagon and Ngawang Gyurmey to 15 years, Khedup to life imprisonment, Yeshi Tenzin to 10 years, Thagu Yeshi to 7 years in prison on charges of “disturbing the social stability”. Tharpa added that Tenzin Choewang and Yeshi Tenzin had died after they were released from prison in poor health. The exact dates of their release is not known.
Meanwhile, another Tibetan man, Tsedak Gonpo, was released from Mianyang prison on April 1. He had served six years’ imprisonment. He was arrested for his role in leading protests in his hometown of Meruma in Ngaba (in Chinese, Aba) county of Sichuan province in 2008.
