A Tibetan writer who has been held for more than a year after his arrest in 2020, is being held in a prison in Qinghai province in central China, a media report said.
Before being detained, Lhundrub, 47, had been monitored by authorities for signs of political dissent, Washington based Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported citing a Tibetan living in exile.
Lhundrub was arrested in December 2020, in China’s Qinghai province while he was on his way to attend a religious debate in Rebgong. According to a witness cited by RFA, he was put in the back of a black car driven by Chinese police.
“We have learned that Gendun Lhundrub whose whereabouts remained unknown until now is being detained at a detention center in Siling,” said a Tibetan who lives inside the Tibet Autonomous Region. “However, his family members are still not allowed to see him, and no information about his condition has been revealed.”
The Chinese Communist Party requires Tibetan Buddhist studies to be taught exclusively in Chinese, according to the Washington based publication.
Lhundrub is undergoing a political re-education program for which he must translate Tibetan Buddhist scripts into Mandarin Chinese, RFA reported citing a source.
Lhundrub’s family last September were informed via a phone call that the writer’s trial would soon be held but have not heard anything since.
“According to a source close to Lhundrub, there is still no news about his trial, but he is being detained at a special detention center where his life is not under threat,” the source said.
China has frequently detained Tibetans who promote their identity and culture after protests against Chinese rule that swept areas in western provinces of China in 2008.
Language rights have become a particular focus for Tibetan efforts to assert national identity in recent years, with teachers subject to detention and arrest.