Tenzin Nyidon
DHARAMSHALA, Oct. 2: Thupten Yeshi, a former political prisoner who spent an aggregate of 15 years in the infamous Drapchi prison for allegedly leading the 1992 protest in Gyama Township, Meldrogungkar County, has reportedly passed away at the age of 74 in Lhasa, Tibet’s capital. The 1992 protest was the first in the County since 1987, marking a significant moment in Tibetan resistance.
Thupten Yeshi was arrested on July 6, 1992, alongside four other farmers—Kunchok Lodroe, Lhundup, Sonam Rinchen, and Sonam Dorjee—following a bold protest in Gyama Township, Meldrogungkar County. On June 30, 1992, a large meeting of around 1,200 people, including local leaders, convened in the township. The four farmers disrupted the gathering, unfurling a 2.5-meter-long Tibetan national flag and shouting slogans such as “Free Tibet,” “Chinese Leave Tibet,” and “Long Live His Holiness the Dalai Lama.”
They were swiftly arrested, and Thupten Yeshi was later apprehended as the alleged ringleader. He was initially detained for 13 days at Meldrogungkar County Detention Centre before being secretly transferred to Gutsa Detention Centre, east of Lhasa. There, he endured nearly three months of interrogation, torture, and inhumane treatment.
On October 20, 1992, following severe torture during interrogation at Gutsa, the Lhasa People’s Intermediate Court convicted all five on charges of “counter-revolutionary plot” and “inciting reactionary propaganda.” Sonam Dorjee and Kunchok Lodroe were sentenced to 13 years in prison, while Thupten Yeshi, Lhundup, and Sonam Rinchen each received 15-year sentences.
Sonam Rinchen, in his twenties at the time, died in 1999 while still in prison, after suffering partial paralysis due to repeated torture. Kunchok Lodroe was released on medical parole in 1996.
On November 20, 1992, the group was transferred to Drapchi Prison. Thupten Yeshi was immediately placed in solitary confinement for reciting Mani prayers and refusing to “reform.” In February 1999, he developed severe renal problems and blisters all over his body, leading to a 17-day stay at Xizang Military Hospital near Drapchi. Despite not fully recovering, he was returned to prison in poor health. Thupten Yeshi was finally released in 2007 after completing his 15-year sentence.
One Response
So far 972 people have viewed this page. None have even offered any prayer to this brave man. It feels like everyone is so used to it and doesn’t care. I FEEL SAD and DISGUSTED at the same time. Om Mani Pemai Hum. May your brave soul transcend and beyond. I pray someday you will be born in Free Tibet.