Tibetan Abbot's Imprisonment Highlights Dam Protest, Calls for Global Support

The Central Tibetan Administration (CTA), representing the Tibetan government-in-exile, has spotlighted the case of Tibetan political prisoner Jamyang Lekshay. Detained for protesting China's dam construction in Tibet, this chef monk from Yena Monastery was arrested in February 2024 after leading a peaceful demonstration against the Kamtok Dam project.

According to the CTA, Lekshay received a four-year prison sentence through covert proceedings, linked to his involvement in the protest. A video exists showing Lekshay in the traditional Tibetan gesture of pleading, revealing emotional appeals to Chinese officials while monks visibly mourned the potential submergence of their cultural heritage.

The CTA's reports suggest a broader strategy of "focused rectification and re-education" by Chinese authorities, forcing political indoctrination upon the monks of Yena Monastery. Condemning these actions, CTA's Human Rights Desk recently highlighted the systematic torture of Tibetans, urging global accountability from China under international human rights laws.