Choedar (确扎), Sonam Gonpo (索朗贡布), Sonam Choedar (索南确达)
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Sonam Choedar (索南确达), Choedar (确扎), Sonam Gonpo (索朗贡布)
(Sonam Gonpo and Choerdar released)
Crime: “Desecration of the National Flag”
Length of Punishment: One year (Choedar); Four years (Sonam Gonpo, Sonam Choedar)
Court: Unknown
Trial Date: Unknown
Sentencing Date: September 9, 2013 (Choedar); September 11, 2013 (Sonam Gonpo, Sonam Choedar)
Dates of Detention/Arrest: Mid-October 2012 (Choedar); December 15, 2012 (Sonam Gonpo, Sonam Choedar); March 12, 2016 (Sonam Gonpo released)
Place of Incarceration: Ra-nga Prison in Rongdrak (Ch: Danba) County, Kardze (Ch: Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province
Background
Three monks from Wonpo Monastery in Kardze, Sichuan Province, Choedar, Sonam Gonpo, and Sonam Choedar, were sentenced in September 2013 after being held incommunicado for nearly a year. Their imprisonment was for hoisting Tibetan flags and distributing posters in a local government schools. After the Tibetan uprising in 2008, the Wonpo area had been under tight surveillance in addition to the Chinese government imposing patriotic policies such as demanding monasteries to fly the Chinese flag. Monks at the Wonpo Monastery have refused to comply, leading to scores of them being detained, including these three monks. In addition, local authorities have intensified the crackdown on Tibetans, as some have pulled the Chinese flag off of government buildings, schools, and monasteries in protest.
At the time of sentecing, Choerdar was 47, and both Sonam Choedar and Sonam Gonpo were 22.
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