A writer who spoke out against Chinese repression of Tibet has burned himself to death, a rights group said, the 53rd person to set themselves ablaze protesting Beijing’s rule.
The International Campaign for Tibet said in a statement that Gudrub, 42, called for freedom for the region and the return of the exiled spiritual leader the Dalai Lama while flames engulfed him in Tibet’s Nagchu county on Thursday.
Gudrub, who was only identified by one name, was taken to a local hospital by authorities where he was pronounced dead, the London-based group said, citing multiple exile Tibetan media outlets.
Calls to authorities in Nagchu on Saturday went unanswered.
China’s Tibetan-inhabited areas have seen an explosion in such protests since February 2009, with at least 53 Tibetans setting themselves alight, mostly since March last year, the campaign said.
“Tibetans who are concerned about the welfare of the people are subjected to arbitrary arrests and beatings,” Gudrub wrote earlier this year in an essay translated by the Tibetan service of the US-based Voice of America.