DHARAMSHALA, January 5: International press freedom advocate Reporters Without Borders has expressed concern over the disappearance of three Tibetan monks Sungrab Gyatso, Yeshe Sangpo, and Draksang and demanded their release in a release Friday.

Phayul had earlier reported that Chinese authorities in eastern Tibet arrested the three monks of the Chamru Monastery for their reported role in sending out information on mass students’ protest in the Chabcha region of Tsolho in November last.

Chinese security personnel arrested Sungrab Gyatso on December 1 while Dragsang and Yeshe Sangpo were picked from their Monastery two days later. The release noted that no information has been provided about the conditions and location in which the monks are being held.

“Jail sentences and holding detainees incommunicado are radical measures but they are used routinely against human rights activists who try to disseminate information that the regime wants to suppress,” Reporters Without Borders said.

“We are outraged by these practices, which show that the People’s Republic of China not only censors messages about freedom and justice but also continues to target those who transmit them. We call for the immediate release of the three monks and the policeman and the withdrawal of all the charges against them.”

On November 26, over a thousand Tibetan students from the Chabcha Sorig Lobling School staged a major protest rally against the Chinese government, raising slogans calling for freedom, equality of nationalities, freedom of language, respect for truth, and re-establishment of governance.

Chinese armed forces used violent force to break up the demonstration, injuring many young protesters and hospitalising around 20 students. The school was subsequently placed under complete lock down and Chinese security forces barred students from meeting their parents and relatives.

RSF noted that many Tibetan monks have been arrested and jailed in recent months for circulating information about protests and cases of self-immolation.