The Chinese government will try three monks for murder after the self-immolation and death of a 16 year old monk took place earlier this year at their Kirti Monastery. From Voice of America:
Tibetan rights groups say 16-year-old Rigzin Phuntsog set himself on fire in March to protest Chinese policies. China’s state run news agency Xinhua said Friday the court in Aba in Sichuan province is charging two of his fellow monks for plotting and assisting in the self-immolation.
A third monk is being charged with moving or hiding the injured Phuntsog, preventing him from getting medical care, which lead to his death.
Xinhua says the trial for Tsering Tenzin, Tenchum and Drongdru will take place early next week.
All the monks were members of Kirti Monastery.
The trial of these monks will take place next week in Sichuan. From the Washington Post:
The two-day trial will be held on Monday and Tuesday, Xinhua said, citing a statement from the Maerkang County People’s Court in Aba Tibetan-Qiang Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province.
The monastery where the incident occurred, Ngaba Kirti in Sichuan province, is under tight guard by security forces.
The circumstances surrounding the monk’s death remain murky, and in June, China rejected pressure from a U.N. human rights panel to provide information about more than 300 of Kirti’s monks whose whereabouts it said are unknown since the monastery was raided in April.
The Foreign Ministry said only that monks were undergoing “legal education” — a reference to hours-long compulsory political lectures on the basics of the Chinese constitution, criminal law and regulations on religious affairs.
Source:
China Trying Three Monks in Self-Immolation Case– Voice of America
China Charges Three with Murder in Self-Immolation Death of Tibetan Buddhist Monk– Washington Post
