Updated: Mon, 20 Oct 2025 09:17 (IST) London-based human rights group Tibet Watch has accused China of torturing Tibetan monks. The allegations relate to Gonpo Tsering, the abbot of Yena Monastery who was tortured in custody after protesting against a hydropower project. His condition is serious. Many other monks and villagers were also arrested, threatening Tibetan heritage. London-based human rights group Tibet Watch has accused China of torturing Tibetan monks (symbolic photo) Jagran Correspondent, Dharamshala. London-based human rights group Tibet Watch has expressed concern over the deteriorating condition of Gonpo Tsering, the abbot of Yena Monastery in Shiba. He is in a hospital in Chengdu, Sichuan province. Gonpo Tsering (45) is said to have been subjected to severe torture in Chinese custody after taking part in peaceful protests against a controversial hydropower project in eastern Tibet. Remove ads Read news only Gonpo, who was detained in February 2024, was among hundreds of monks and villagers from Tsering, Yena and other monasteries who peacefully protested against the Kamtok hydropower dam in Dege, Kham region. Sources claim that the monk was brutally beaten during interrogation, leaving him unable to speak or eat. He suffered severe breathing problems. Protesters knelt before Chinese authorities and pleaded for the protection of homes and monasteries, but instead they were met with violent repression, mass arrests and forced detention. Before losing the ability to speak, Gonpo is said to have told fellow monks: ‘Don’t worry about me. I have done nothing against the truth and the principles of a monk.’ Video of him begging for mercy went viral. Another religious leader, Abbot Jamyang Lekshay, was also detained for his role in the peaceful protests. A video of him has been circulating, showing him kneeling and begging for mercy. He has since been sentenced to four years in prison. Human rights groups say the move is an example of China’s growing intolerance of any expression of dissent. After the arrests, Chinese authorities placed Yena Monastery under “concentrated correction and re-education,” widely seen as a euphemism for political ideology and religious control. The Kamtok Dam, designed to generate 1.1 million kilowatts of electricity, threatens to submerge six monasteries and two villages, erasing centuries-old Tibetan heritage. In July 2024, a group of UN human rights experts urged China to halt the project and warned of irreversible cultural and ecological damage. Yet, as usual, China ignored international appeals.
‘Abbot of Yena Monastery tortured over water power protest’, London-based human rights group Tibet Watch’s major claim on China – China accused of torturing Tibetan monks rights group
