Tibetan Monk missing months after arrest, family demands fair trial

Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India] August 14 : Kunchok Choedak, the acting head and scriptural teacher of Hor Tsang Kirti Monastery, was arrested in December 2014. Just eight months later, the monk was reported missing, according to the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) report.

As per the report, the Tibetan man was forcibly detained by the Chinese authorities in Sangchu County, Kanlho (Gannan) Prefecture in Tibet's traditional province of Amdo, incorporated into China's Gansu Province. As per CTA, the authorities, thereafter, carried out a search operation at his residence, seizing numerous documents and materials related to the Kirti Monasteries' General Buddhist Education Supervisory Group.

Despite being the months of missing, the government of the People's Republic of China (PRC) is maintaining silence on his living condition and location, raising serious concerns about his safety and health.

The published report by the Central Tibetan Administration further raised questions on the conduct of the PRC government as in Tibet the extensive surveillance, arbitrary detention, and imprisonment is escalating in human rights abuses. They have been misusing the "National Security Law" to criminalise peaceful religious and civic activities, therefore, targeting lamas, teachers, singers, environmental activists, educators, and community leaders.

The unlawful arrest and incommunicado detention of Kunchok Choedak represent a deliberate violation of the rights of Tibetans in Tibet, infringing on fundamental freedoms, including protection from arbitrary detention, religious liberty, freedom of expression, access to information, and family life, the CTA report stated.

Enforced disappearances and holding Tibetans particularly political prisoners, in secret custody have often led to a high risk of torture or other cruel treatment, causing severe suffering and, in extreme cases, death, as reported Central Tibetan Administration.

Kunchok Choedak has been a revered member of the Taktsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery from his early age. He was appointed as the Acting Abbot of Hor Tsang Kirti Monastery, as traditionally selected from Taktsang Lhamo Kirti Monastery.

Since his disappearance, his family and relatives have been persistently requesting the Chinese government to provide information about his health and the charges against him. They are demanding a free and fair trial in accordance with international law, as well as China's own Constitution and legal provisions, as cited by the CTA report.

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