Additional Name(s): Tsultrim, རིན་ཆེན་ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་, 仁青持真

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: China

Ethnic Group: Tibetan

Religion or Belief: Bon

Sentence: 4 Years, 6 Months' Imprisonment

Date of Detainment: August/1/2019

Date of Sentencing: November/27/2020

Date of Release: February/1/2024

Current Status: Released

Religious Leader: Yes

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Imprisonment

Reason for Persecution: Criticizing Religious Freedom Conditions Distributing Religious Materials Online Activity

Nature of Charges: Separatism

Rinchen Tsultrim

Extra Bio Info:

Rinchen Tsultrim was imprisoned for criticizing state policies restricting religious freedom.

On August 1, 2019, security officials in Ngaba (Aba) County, Ngaba (Aba) Tibetan & Qiang Autonomous Prefecture (T&QAP), Sichuan province, detained Tsultrim, a monk, reportedly in relation to posts he made on social media about religious and political issues in Tibet. He was charged with "inciting separatism."  After his arrest, Tsultrim's whereabout became unknown. 

Prior to his arrest, authorities had shut down Tsultrim's website where he voiced criticism of state policies. He was also being kept under surveillance online and offline, including his distribution of books and scriptures to remote areas of Tibet via the post office, and his phone calls were monitored. 

On November 27, 2020, the Aba Intermediate People's Court sentenced Tsultrim to four years and six months in prison for "inciting separatism." 

On February 1, 2024, Tsultrim was reportedly released from Mianyang Prison, in Mianyang municipality, Sichuan.

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