9 UN Experts Investigate China's Incarceration and Disappearance of 9 Tibetans

United Nations (UN) human rights experts have issued a communication letter to the Chinese government raising serious concerns about its recent history of human rights violations, in particular, its unlawful arrest and disappearance of rights defenders and individuals in Tibet and East Turkestan (Ch: Xinjiang). The communication highlights “recurring patterns of repression, including incommunicado detentions and enforced disappearances, which were intended to limit artistic, cultural, and religious expression, silence human rights defenders in these regions, and silence opposing or critical views.” The communication dated 14 November 2024 was made public on 14 January 2025.

In the communication, the experts called on the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to provide information on the fate and whereabouts of nine Tibetans, including Tsedo, Kori, Chugdar, Gelo, Bhamo, Lobsang Samten, Lobsang Trinley, Wangkyi, and Tsering Tashi. The communication also mentioned other human rights defenders, journalists, lawyers, activists, and ethnic or religious minorities unlawfully imprisoned and disappeared.

Moreover, the experts questioned China about the facts and legal basis for the arrest, detention, charge, and sentence of the individuals mentioned above, along with whether their cases were classified as secret and the trials were closed. They explained how these actions conformed to China’s international human rights obligations.

Many Tibetans have been subjected to severe torture and inhumane treatment during police interrogation for years, and a few have died as a result of these tortures, as well as the lack of adequate medical care. The experts have called on the PRC government to provide detailed information on its efforts to investigate any miscarriage of justice, ill-treatment in pre-trial and post-trial detention, as well as cases of death in custody.

The communication noted the cases of five Tibetans mentioned above who were arrested in August 2022 as part of religious activities, such as burning incense and offering prayers. “Persons associated with them were not allowed to send them food,” wrote the experts. It also mentioned the case of Chugdar’s demise while in custody, where he was allegedly subjected to severe beatings and other forms of torture and ill-treatment.

Additionally, the communication emphasises the recent wrongful arrest in September 2024 of four Tibetans, namely Lobsang Samten, Lobsang Trinley, Wangkyi, and Tsering Tashi, who were arrested and disappeared into Chinese custody without any information on their fate, whereabouts, and charges against them. The experts have noted that Lobsang Samten, imprisoned in 2011, and Lobsang Trinley “play a crucial role in the religious life of Kirti Monastery.”

In recent years, the PRC government has intensified its suppression of religious freedom in Tibet, criminalising even the most basic expression of religious belief. Tibetans are subject to arrest and detention for acts as simple as burning incense, offering prayers, or possessing images of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The PRC government’s extensive surveillance system monitors religious activities, while authorities maintain tight control over monasteries and nunneries through “management committees” and mandatory political education sessions.

The PRC government’s “sinicization of religion” has led to the destruction of religious sites and monasteries, forcibly relocating monks and nuns and arbitrarily detaining religious leaders. The criminalisation of everyday religious practices is a severe violation of international human rights standards and demonstrates China’s broader strategy to eradicate Tibetan religious and cultural identity.

The letter was jointly signed by UN special rapporteurs, including Gabriella Citroni, Chair and Rapporteur of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; Ganna Yudkivska, Vice-Chair on Communications of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention; Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of the Right to Freedom of Opinion and Expression; Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association; Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders; Margaret Satterthwaite, Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers; Nicolas Levrat, Special Rapporteur on Minority Issues; Nazila Ghanea, Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief; and Laura Nyirinkindi, Chair and Rapporteur of the Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls.