Tibetan man detained without trial in critical health
DHARAMSALA, Mar 12: A Tibetan man detained for more than a year without trial in eastern Tibet is said to be in extremely poor health.
Gawa Sangpo, a native of Yikgu village of Yagla town in Sog county in Tibet Autonomous Region was arrested in January last year for writing a letter stating 1) Our devotion and faith lies in His Holiness the Dalai Lama as he is our root lama 2) We will follow Lobsang Sangay’s instruction as he is our leader and 3) We need independence as Tibet has always been an independent country.
For more than a year, he was held at the Sog county detention centre without any trial or formal charge.
“He is still being held at the county detention centre and his body has become very weak due to several months of torture,” said a source from Tibet on condition of anonymity.
“He told the Chinese authorities that he regretted 1) being caught before he could self-immolate, 2) not being able to raise the Tibetan flag on top of Potala palace and 3) for not being able to burn Chinese flag as he wished,” said the same source citing Tibetans who traced Gawa’s whereabouts as saying.
“He even told the authorities to announce to the whole world what he had told them,” added the same source.
