Phuntsok Yangchen
Phayul
May 20, 2015
A Tibetan singer had been sentenced to three and half years’ imprisonment by a Lhasa Intermediate People’s court on April 15, sources said.
Gonpo Tenzin, 27, is a Tibetan singer who was arrested from Lhasa, Tibet’s capital city, last year in November for producing music albums that called for Tibetan unity and preservation of the Tibetan language.
Gonpo has sung several songs calling for unity among Tibetans and preservation of the Tibetan language and cultural tradition. Among his albums, “where is the Tibetan losar in Tibet” became hugely popular in Tibet.
Gonpo Tenzin is a native of Septhra village, Shagchu Township in Driru County, Nagchu Prefecture.
Due to China’s strict restriction on telephone line and other mode of communications like instant messaging application Wechat in Driru County, news of his detention and sentence surfaced only now. now.
Since widespread protests against China across Tibet in 2008, Tibetan singers, writers, and artistes promoting Tibetan national identity and culture have become easy targets of China’s ongoing crackdown on intellectuals.
