Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, July 21: Tibetan environmental activist Tsongon Tsering was released from prison on July 8 after spending over eight months in detention in Ngaba (Ch: Aba) Prefecture, Sichuan Province, according to the Dharamshala-based Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD).
Despite his release, the 29-year-old remains under severe restrictions that curtail his basic freedoms. According to the report, Tsering appeared physically weak upon release, and stringent conditions accompanied his early discharge, before completing his full sentence. The precise reason for his early release remains unclear.
Tsering was detained in October 2024 after he posted a video online exposing illegal mining by Anhui Xianhe Construction Engineering Company. The company was reportedly conducting resource extraction under the pretence of infrastructure development. His peaceful protest led to an eight-month prison sentence handed down by the Kyungchu County People’s Court. The sentence was later extended by an additional eight months when he refused to plead guilty. Authorities charged him with “disrupting social order,” a vague and broadly applied accusation commonly used to stifle dissent in Tibet.
Now out of prison, Tsering is banned from making any public or private statements deemed “harmful to the government” and from organizing or participating in any form of group activity, including informal gatherings. These restrictions effectively silence his environmental activism and violate his rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
“Although we welcome the release of Tsongon Tsering from prison, we remain deeply concerned about his health and the extensive restrictions imposed on him,” said Dawa Tashi, a researcher at the TCHRD. “He should never have been imprisoned in the first place. His case exemplifies the risks faced by Tibetan environmental defenders simply for exercising their right to speak out against harmful state and corporate practices.”
TCHRD urged the Chinese government to immediately lift all restrictions on Tsongon Tsering, ensure access to adequate medical care, and uphold his rights in accordance with international human rights standards. The group emphasized the need to end the ongoing persecution of environmental defenders in Tibet and called for accountability for those violating their rights.
