After protests and riots broke out in Lhasa in March 2008, Dolma Kyab was reportedly moved from Chushul (Chinese: Qushui) Prison on March 20, 2008. PEN had received reports that he was in very poor health. On October 8, 2015, after completing 10 and a half years in jail on false charges, Kyab was released.
Case History
Impassioned by his interest in writing, Dolma Kyab maintained a commentary manuscript written in Chinese, entitled Sao dong de Ximalayashan (Restless Himalayas); it is comprised of 57 chapters he had written on various topics: democracy, sovereignty of Tibet, Tibet under communism, colonialism, religion and belief, etc. Alongside this manuscript, he began writing another on the geographical aspects of Tibet, and though comparatively short, it made mention of sensitive topics, like the location and number of Chinese military camps in the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR). His pen name is Lobsang Kelsang Gyatso.
On March 9, 2005, Dolma Kyab was arrested in Lhasa at the middle school where he was teaching history and taken to the TAR Public Security Bureau Detention Center, popularly known as Seitru in Tibetan. He was held pending trial at Seitru on charges of “endangering state security,” and on September 16, 2005, he was convicted and sentenced to 10.5 years in prison by the Lhasa People’s Intermediate Court for Restless Himalayas. A subsequent appeal made by his family was rejected on November 30, 2005, and the 10.5-year sentence was upheld.
WRITING BY DOLMA KYAB
“The Restless Himalayas,” Preface and Chapter 1
“The Restless Himalayas,” Chapter 3