{"id":10886,"date":"2026-03-25T15:26:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T14:26:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/savetibet.nl\/?post_type=nieuws&#038;p=10886"},"modified":"2026-05-11T14:39:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T12:39:41","slug":"young-tibetan-monk-dies-in-chinese-custody-amid-repression-of-monks-who-celebrated-dalai-lamas-90th-birthday","status":"publish","type":"nieuws","link":"https:\/\/savetibet.nl\/en\/news\/young-tibetan-monk-dies-in-chinese-custody-amid-repression-of-monks-who-celebrated-dalai-lamas-90th-birthday\/","title":{"rendered":"Young Tibetan monk dies in Chinese custody amid repression of monks who celebrated Dalai Lama\u2019s 90th birthday"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:18px\">The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) has learned of the death in police custody of Samten, a 25-year-old monk from Ditsa Geden Tashi Choedingling Monastery in Amdo in present-day Qinghai Province. On 18 December 2025, local police in Shongshan Tibetan Township, in Palung (Hualong) Hui Autonomous County, Tsoshar (Haidong), Qinghai Province, returned Samten\u2019s body to the monastery, claiming he \u201csuddenly fell ill\u201d and died during an unsuccessful emergency transfer to an unspecified hospital. However, local sources suspect that Samten was beaten to death during interrogation by Chinese officials. News of his death began circulating in March 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:18px\">Upon returning his remains in 2025, Chinese authorities ordered the monks not to disclose any information regarding Samten\u2019s death. The current situation of Samten\u2019s family remains unknown. Owing to Chinese authorities\u2019 severe restrictions on access to information, when and for what reasons Samten was taken into police custody are currently unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/savetibet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260324-Ditsa-Monastery-1200-700x368.jpg\" alt=\"Ditsa Monastery\" class=\"wp-image-2469132\" style=\"width:500px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Ditsa Monastery (via Tibet Times)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:18px\">ICT believes that Samten had been under constant police surveillance since 2021. That year, he was detained for sharing photographs on the Chinese social media platform WeChat related to the democratic elections of the Central Tibetan Administration, the government-in-exile of the Tibetan people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:18px\">ICT connects Samten\u2019s detention with a broader crackdown on monastic institutions in Palung County. In October 2021, authorities intensified surveillance at Ditsa Monastery and expelled approximately 80 monks under the age of 18 from <a href=\"https:\/\/savetibet.org\/china-renews-attacks-on-remaining-tibetan-language-schools\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ditsa and Jakyung monasteries<\/a> (50 monks from Ditsa and an additional 30 minor monks from the nearby Jakyung Monastery).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\">Dalai Lama\u2019s 90th birthday crackdown<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:18px\">Ditsa Monastery, founded in 1903, has historically been a vital center for Tibetan-language education and preservation in the region. Because of this cultural significance, it has become a target of China\u2019s \u201cSinicization\u201d campaign. Samten\u2019s death comes in the aftermath of an intensified campaign of oppression leading up to the 14th Dalai Lama\u2019s 90th birthday in July 2025. Chinese authorities raided monasteries to confiscate images of the Dalai Lama, conducted mandatory \u201cpolitical education\u201d sessions, harassed and intimidated monks and monastic leaders and detained Tibetans in widespread crackdowns. As ICT reported previously, Chinese authorities\u2019 repression drove 52-year-old <a href=\"https:\/\/savetibet.org\/tsang-monastery-senior-leader-commits-suicide-amid-chinese-oppression\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Shersang Gyatso<\/a> of Tsang Monastery to commit suicide in August 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading has-medium-font-size\">Zega Gyatso\u2019s non-release release<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/savetibet.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/20260324-Zega-Gyatso-1200-700x368.jpg\" alt=\"Zega Gyatso\" style=\"width:500px\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Zega Gyatso<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:20px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:18px\">Chinese authorities arrested 48-year-old <a href=\"https:\/\/savetibet.org\/tsang-monastery-senior-leader-commits-suicide-amid-chinese-oppression\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Zega Gyatso<\/a> around the Dalai Lama\u2019s 90th birthday and released him in January 2026. Zega, a monk of Tsang Monastery in Malho (Ch: Huangnan) County, was detained in Xining, where he had gone for medical treatment. After six months\u2019 detention on the accusation of maintaining contact and remitting money to India, Zega reached his home only to be taken back to Xining three days later to sign documents pledging not to engage in activities in violation of official directives. He returned to Tsang Monastery around mid-February 2026 but his movements have been strictly controlled by Chinese authorities and he cannot meet freely with anyone. This follows a widespread and systematic pattern of Chinese authorities releasing Tibetans from detention centers or prisons while keeping them under stifling restrictions on their freedom of movement and ability to communicate with others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:40px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:18px\">Support Tibetans in their struggle for freedom by donating <a href=\"https:\/\/savetibet.nl\/en\/donate\/\">here<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) has learned of the death in police custody of Samten, a 25-year-old monk from Ditsa Geden Tashi Choedingling Monastery in Amdo in present-day Qinghai Province. On 18 December 2025, local police in Shongshan Tibetan Township, in Palung (Hualong) Hui Autonomous County, Tsoshar (Haidong), Qinghai Province, returned Samten\u2019s body to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"categorie":[],"news_tag":[],"class_list":["post-10886","nieuws","type-nieuws","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Young Tibetan monk dies in Chinese custody amid repression of monks who celebrated Dalai Lama\u2019s 90th birthday - Campaign for Tibet<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/savetibet.nl\/en\/news\/young-tibetan-monk-dies-in-chinese-custody-amid-repression-of-monks-who-celebrated-dalai-lamas-90th-birthday\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Young Tibetan monk dies in Chinese custody amid repression of monks who celebrated Dalai Lama\u2019s 90th birthday - Campaign for Tibet\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The International Campaign for Tibet (ICT) has learned of the death in police custody of Samten, a 25-year-old monk from Ditsa Geden Tashi Choedingling Monastery in Amdo in present-day Qinghai Province. 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