New York [US] September 9 Tibetan youth and activists across Europe and the United States have launched coordinated protests against the Chinese government following its unexpected and arbitrary decision to extend the prison sentence of Tibetan environmentalist A-Nya Sengdra.
Initially scheduled for release on September 4, 2025, Sengdra's sentence has now been extended to February 2026, with no official justification provided.
According to The Tibet Post, A-Nya Sengdra was arrested in September 2018 for leading peaceful campaigns against illegal mining, corruption, and wildlife poaching in his local Tibetan community.
Despite international recognition for his environmental and anti-corruption work, Sengdra was sentenced to seven years in prison, where his health has since significantly deteriorated.
In response, protests have erupted in multiple cities, including New York, Brussels, London, Amsterdam, Oslo, and Paris. On September 6, over 50 members of Students for a Free Tibet staged a demonstration outside the Chinese consulate in New York, demanding Sengdra's immediate release. Similar actions were organised in late August and early September across European capitals, as reported by The Tibet Post.
In Germany, human rights group Tibet Initiative Deutschland launched an online petition titled "Freedom for A-Nya Sengdra: Stop the Arbitrary Extension of His Detention!" The organisation is urging German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul to publicly pressure China for Sengdra's release.
They emphasise that his case reflects a broader pattern of suppression targeting peaceful Tibetan civil society leaders, a concern repeatedly highlighted by The Tibet Post.
The protests also shed light on other alarming incidents in Tibet, including deaths of monks under torture, suicides in protest of religious repression, and severe restrictions on family visits to political prisoners. Activists argue these events are part of a systemic campaign by the Chinese Communist Party to silence dissent and erode Tibetan culture.
The international Tibetan community continues to call for diplomatic intervention and global awareness, emphasising that silence enables continued human rights abuses in Tibet, as cited by The Tibet Post.
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