16. Feb 2009
Fifteen Tibetans arrested in Lithang
(TCHRD) Following the arrest of Lobsang Lhundup, in Lithang county, a group of 15 Tibetans from Lithang staged a similar protest the following day, according to TCHRD. Sonam Tenpa, the younger brother of Lobsang Lhundup along with fourteen other Tibetans staged a protest march in the main square of Lithang, which lasted for around two hours. Sonam Tenpa, who led the protest, was carrying a huge portrait of the Dalai Lama. According to eyewitness accounts the protesters were beaten and loaded into trucks by the PSB and the PAP. All the detainees were known to be from nomadic families who have shifted their residences from different villages to Lithang Town. According to a TCHRD source: "Two more groups of Tibetan people - a few Tibetans close to Ronggye A'drak who was arrested and sentenced in 2007 and a few other local Tibetan residents of Lithang - were also detained by PSB and PAP forces following their protest demonstration".