28. Apr 2009
Three religious dignitaries detained in Nagchu
(TCHRD) According to the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), the authorities in Nagchu (Chin: Naqu) county, Nagchu prefecture, in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) has "secretly detained" three monks. On 11 April 2009, Nagchu Public Security Bureau (PSB) detained Khensur Thupten Thapkhey, a former abbot of Shapten Monastery and scripture master Geshe Tsultrim Gyaltsen, for reasons that are unclear. The PSB allegedly told the monks of the monastery that the two monks had gone to Lhasa to receive Geshe (Doctorate of philosophy) Degree Certificates from the religious bureau. However, they had been taken to a detention centre, where they are currently being held. Similarly, another monk Tsundue, the head of the Shapten monastery's Democratic Management Committee (DMC) was said to have left the area to attend a meeting but was taken to Nagchu PSB detention centre.