Additional Name(s): Semkyi Dolma, སེམས་སྐྱིད་སྒྲོལ་མ་, 森吉卓玛
Gender: Female
Perpetrator: China
Ethnic Group: Tibetan
Religion or Belief: Buddhist – Tibetan
Sentence: 1 Year, 6 Months' Imprisonment
Date of Detainment: October//2023
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment
Reason for Persecution: Discussing Religion & Religious Texts Online Activity Religious Activity
Nature of Charges: Leaking State Secrets
Semkyi Drolma is imprisoned for her religious activity.
In October 2023, police in Damshung (Dangxiong) county, Lhasa municipality, Tibet Autonomous Region, detained Drolma for participating in WeChat discussion groups about Buddhism.
In December 2023, Drolma’s family learned that a court had sentenced her to one year and six months in prison for allegedly "leaking state secrets" to someone outside the country.
"Semkyi Drolma" Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC)
Additional Name(s): Wangchuk Tso, དབང་ཕྱུག་མཚོ་, 旺秀措
Gender: Female
Perpetrator: China
Ethnic Group: Tibetan
Religion or Belief: Buddhist – Tibetan
Date of Detainment: October/26/2023
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment
Reason for Persecution: Adherence to a Religious Figure Online Activity Religious Belief
Nature of Charges: Unknown
Wangchug Tso is detained for her adherence to a religious figure.
On October 26, 2023, authorities in Dola (Qilian) county, Tsojang (Haibei) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai province, detained Tso, accusing her of sharing an image of the Dalai Lama on social media and sharing information with Tibetans living outside of China.
"Wangchug Tso" Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC)
Additional Name(s): Серебряков Александр Георгиевич
Gender: Male
Perpetrator: Russia
Religion or Belief: Christian – Jehovah's Witness
Date of Detainment: September/19/2023
Current Status: Not Released
Religious Leader: No
Most Recent Type of Abuse: Detainment
Reason for Persecution: Religious Activity Religious Belief
Nature of Charges: Banned Organization Extremism Illicit Financing
Aleksandr Serebryakov is detained for his religious activity and belief.
On September 19, 2023, authorities detained Serebryakov following searches on Jehovah's Witness homes in Moscow and the broader Moscow region. He was charged with “collecting funds…intended to finance the organization, preparation and commission of at least one of the crimes of an extremist orientation, or to ensure the activities of an extremist community or an extremist organization” (Art. 282.3-1 RCC).
Serebryakov has been previously prosecuted for his religious activities. In August 2022, the Golovinsky District Court of Moscow sentenced Serebryakov to six years' suspended sentence for his Jehovah's Witness activities.
Photo attributed to Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia
"The case of Serebryakov in Moscow" Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia
"В Москве осужденный Свидетель Иеговы арестован по новому делу" SOVA Center
"В Москве свидетеля Иеговы, осуждённого условно, отправили в СИЗО по новому делу" Memorial
"New Searches and a Criminal Case in Moscow and Moscow Region. Aleksandr Serebryakov Who Was Previously Convicted for his Faith Was Detained" Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia
"The case of Serebryakov and Temirbulatov in Moscow" Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia