Prominent Tibetan Environmentalist Freed after 15 Years, Yet Continues to Face Surveillance
DHARAMSALA, 20 Nov: Chinese authorities have released prominent Tibetan environmentalist and philanthropist Karma Samdrup after he completed a 15-year prison sentence. Karma Samdrup was released in frail health, sources have told Tibet Express.
According to the sources, Samdrup’s family members celebrated his release by posting pictures of him online. However, the pictures swiftly disappeared as he remained under the watch of Chinese authorities.
For the uninitiated, noted Tibetan environmentalist Karma Samdrup was arrested in January 2010 by Chinese authorities while attempting to secure his brothers’ release, who were detained for their environmental protection work.
Though his trial was initially scheduled for June 1, 2010, it was delayed and finally began on June 22, 2010. The verdict, delivered on June 24, sentenced him to 15 years in prison, imposed a five-year suspension of his political rights, and levied a monetary fine of 10,000 Chinese yuan.
Karma Samdrup hails from Dompa Township in Gonjo County’s Samphel village in the traditional Tibetan province of Kham. Together with his brothers, Rinchen Samdrup and Chimed Namgyal, he established a volunteer environmental protection organisation called the “Achung Senge Sky Valley Environmental Protection Group.”
The case of the brothers highlights the challenges faced by environmental activists in Chinese-occupied Tibet, particularly those working on conservation projects in Tibetan areas.
