Tagyal

Tibetan scholar and writer, Tagyal (Pen Name: Shogdung), was detained on 23 April under suspicion of “inciting separatism”. He is a prisoner of conscience, at high risk of torture and other ill-treatment.

Tagyal is a well-known Tibetan scholar, aged 47, who writes under the pen name Shogdung. On 23 April, security officials took him from his workplace, the Nationalities Publishing House, in Xining, the capital of Qinghai Province in China. Later the same day, the officials went to his home and confiscated two computers. Around 2.30 am the next morning they returned to his home, informing his family that he was being held under suspicion of “inciting separatism”.

Tagyal is believed to be held in No.1 Detention Center in Xining (also known as Ershilipu Detention Center). Despite several attempts, no one has been able to visit him. Tibetans in police custody, particularly those detained on charges of “inciting separatism”, are frequently tortured and otherwise ill-treated. Tagyal suffers from poor eye- sight and digestive problems.

Tagyal’s detention was first publicized on a blog that has since been blocked. The blog suggested that his detention was prompted by the publication of an open letter that he wrote on 17 April, which was signed by seven other Tibetan scholars and artists. The letter expresses condolences to the victims of an earthquake that struck Qinghai on 14 April. No other signatory is known to have been detained. Tagyal’s recently published book, The Line between Sky and Earth, which describes Tibet in the wake of the unrest in 2008 as “a place of terror”, may also be a reason for his detention.

The authorities closed down his family-run bookshop on 12 April, leaving the family without a source of income.

(Source: Amnesty International)