Tibetan Librarian Jailed for Importing Religious Books and Offering Prayers

According to the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD), Lobsang Thapkhey, a 56-year-old former librarian at Kirti Monastery in Ngaba, has been sentenced to three years in a Chinese prison. Thapkhey was arrested in June 2023 for importing religious books from India and making financial offerings to the Dalai Lama and Kirti Rinpoche, which Chinese authorities labeled as separatist activity. Despite these books having no political content, he has been imprisoned at Deyang Prison in Sichuan Province. TCHRD condemns this violation of religious freedom under China's constitution.