Poet monk sentenced to seven years in prison on unknown charges
May 9, 2016
Central Tibetan Administration, May 9, 2016 – It has been learned today that a Kirti monk and writer Jo Losang Jamyang, 28, whose pen name is Lomik, has been sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. The hearing took place at the Lunggu (chinese: Wenchuan) county court in Ngaba prefecture.
Lomik was arrested by Chinese police on the streets of Ngaba town at around 11.30 pm on 17 April 2015. He was held in detention, without being brought to trial or informing his family of his whereabouts, for over a year. The charges on which he was tried by the court are not known.
Lomik comes from Jotsang household in village no 3 of Meruma township, son of father Jodor and mother Jamkar. He joined Kirti monastery at a young age and was a student of the Prajnaparamita class. He has also taken part-time courses in non-religious studies at Larung Gar monastery in Serta and the Northwest Minorities University in Lanzhou. He participated in many speaking events, and is the author of numerous poems and regular social commentary, including on freedom of expression for writers in Tibet. A collection of his poems has been published as The Swirling Yellow Mist.
–Report filed by Lobsang Yeshe and Kanyag Tsering–