Tibetan nomad jailed for posting photo of Dalai Lama on WeChat

By Choekyi Lhamo

DHARAMSHALA, Mar. 22: A Tibetan nomad named Tashi Gyal was sentenced to prison for one year on charges of inciting ‘separatism’ and ‘endangering national security’ by the Golog Prefecture Intermediate Court in Amdo, Tibet. Chinese website ‘Rights Defender’ reported that Tashi was arrested on May 30, 2020 for sharing information related to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration on WeChat in 2015.

The accused reportedly posted four pictures of the Dalai Lama and shared them with his friends online in May and October of 2014. He again posted and shared pictures of the Tibetan spiritual leader and the democratically elected President of the exile Tibetan community, Dr. Lobsang Sangay on Jan. 1, 2015.

Tracking his online footprint, the authorities also took hold of the pictures he posted of Tibetan national flag and his call for the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet and Tibet’s independence during Losar in March 2015. Later that year in November, he again took to WeChat and shared videos linked to both the CTA head and the Dalai Lama.

After five years on May 16 last year, the local authorities detained and interrogated Tashi Gyal for 15 consecutive days. The ruling called his actions illegal, and that it was aimed at “splitting the nation” and “endangering national security”.

The report stated that the trial was held behind closed doors and his family members were left without any knowledge of the proceedings. The news of his sentencing was known after 10 months of his arrest, as his phone was confiscated by Chinese authorities at the end of the trial, according to the report.