Human rights in China: Tibetan activist Tashi Wangchuk released after five years in prison
- Activist was detained in 2016 for ‘inciting separatism’ after appearing in a documentary about the diminishing use of the Tibetan language
- He is now at his sister’s home in Qinghai province but his lawyer says he is unsure if his client is ‘fully free’
A Tibetan activist sentenced to five years in prison by Chinese authorities for “inciting separatism” after appearing in a New York Times documentary has been released, his lawyer said.
The documentary followed Tashi as he travelled to Beijing where he attempted to get Chinese state media and courts to address what he described as the diminishing use of the Tibetan language.
His lawyer Liang Xiaojun tweeted on Thursday that Tashi had been escorted home by officials and was now with his sister’s family in Yushu, Qinghai province and was in good health, although Liang was unsure if Tashi was “fully free”.
But Liang said on Friday that after an initial communication he was now unable to reach Tashi and his family, raising fears that he continues to be subjected to official restrictions.
Court and prison officials in Qinghai, a province in northwest China with a large ethnic Tibetan population, declined to comment on Friday.