A young Tibetan Buddhist monk has reportedly died in custody under suspicious circumstances, with rights groups alleging possible torture and accusing Chinese authorities of enforcing secrecy around the case.
Samten, a 25-year-old monk, had reportedly been under continuous police surveillance since 2021. His body was returned in December to Ditsa Geden Tashi Choeding Ling Monastery by officials from Shongshan Tibetan Township.
Authorities said he died of a sudden illness while being taken to a hospital, but provided no details about the facility or the sequence of events, deepening suspicions, according to Phayul, a news portal covering Tibet and the Tibetan diaspora.
During the same period, authorities stepped up surveillance at his monastery and expelled nearly 50 monks under the age of 18.
In a similar action, about 30 monks were removed from Jhakhyung Monastery in Palung County, within the Tsoshar Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the Amdo region, moves that observers say point to efforts to undermine traditional monastic structures.
Rights groups argue that Samten’s death is part of a wider pattern of repression. They cite reports of enforced disappearances of senior monks, raids on monasteries to remove images of the Dalai Lama, and “political education” campaigns that allegedly compel monks to denounce their spiritual leader, according to Phayul.
In one reported instance, such pressures were alleged to have led a respected scholar to take his own life, as cited by ANI. The report situates these developments within China’s ongoing “Sinicisation” campaign under Xi Jinping.
The policy seeks to reshape Tibetan identity by curbing the use of the Tibetan language in schools and limiting religious education for young monks, according to Phayul.
