In the latest demonstration of how serious the crackdown on democratic freedoms for Tibetans by the Chinese authorities has become, a Tibetan has been sentenced to a jail term for spreading independence opinions. Phayul.com has reported on Feb. 11, 2013, China sentences Tibetan for spreading ‘Tibetan independence opinions.’ A 60-year-old Tibetan has been sentenced to four years in prison for spreading opinions related to Tibetan independence, as part of a continuing crackdown on Tibetans in connection with the wave of self-immolation protests in Tibet.
In the Malho region of eastern Tibet, a Chinese court has convicted the Tibetan herdsman, Gyadehor, for “inciting secession” and has deprived him of his political rights for two years. Xinhua, which is China’s state news agency, has reported the elderly Tibetan was found guilty of “spreading opinions which are related to ‘Tibetan independence’ when he brought cash and other goods to console families of self-immolators in November 2012.” The court stated his acts constituted the “crime of inciting a split of the state.”
Just last month, Chinese courts sentenced Lobsang Konchok, 40, a monk of the Ngaba Kirti Monastery, to death with a two-year reprieve and Lobsang Tsering, 31, to 10 years in prison. Furthermore, on the same day, six Tibetans were sentenced to heavy jail terms of up to 12 years for their alleged roles in attempting to rescue a Tibetan self-immolator from falling into the hands of Chinese authorities. Urgyen Badheytsang, National Director of Students for a Free Tibet, has said, "China wants to stop self-immolations by killing more Tibetans, giving them death sentences.”
