A court in Kandze convicted Samphel Dhondup, 23, for saying ‘Freedom for Tibet’ and “Return the Dalai Lama’ to his country.

Dharamsala (AsiaNews) – A court in Kandze sentenced Samphel Dhondup to three years in prison. The 23-year-old Tibetan activist (pictured) and two other people were arrested in July for shouting slogans like ‘Freedom for Tibet’ and ‘Return the Dalai Lama’ to his country, but whereas the other two were released right away, Samphel was tried and convicted to show Beijing’s ruthless iron fist against Tibet.

Samphel was convicted on 20 August, but the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD) received the information only today.

According to the TCHRD, which monitors human rights in Tibet, members of China’s security forces badly beat the three activists for handing out pamphlets that said ‘Freedom for Tibet’, ‘Long Live H.H the Dalai Lama’, ‘Return of the Dalai Lama’ and ‘May the Dalai Lama and all Tibetans unite soon’.

It is not immediately known on what charges the activist was convicted. But his arrest is part of an ongoing iron fist policy pursued by mainland China not only against Tibetan independence but also against any attempt to exert cultural autonomy in the mountain nation.

Fearing Tibetan demands, the Chinese state has increasingly resorted to violence repression.

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