Dharamshala — Emerging sources say Chinese authorities in Chigdril County of Golok region of Amdo Province have detained a Tibetan youth over allegedly sharing information with people outside Tibet.
"The youth is identified as Yonten Rabgyal, a 26-year-old Tibetan, who was detained by Chinese police on March 13," sources told the Tibet Post International (TPI) on Monday afternoon.
"However, local Tibetans believe that the Tibetan youth was detained for sending or sharing information and images related to Tibet and His Holiness the Dalai Lama," sources added.
"As of now, information regarding his condition, location of his detention and actual reason for his detention remain unknown," the source said.
"His relatives are worried and tense because they have no information about his arrest," the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
This is the second time that Rabgyal have been detained. He was detained before and released on a severe fine of 5000 yuan.
"Rabgyal had told a friend that the County police, asked him to come to the police station for no obvious reason, saying he had done nothing illegal."
"A few days ago, a Tibetan man was detained on suspicion of sharing a video clip related to incidents in Tibet over the popular WeChat microblog. However, he was released after the authorities found he is illiterate and unable to read," sources said.
Chinese authorities have stepped up curbs on information flows in most parts of Tibet amid protests, in some places including self-immolations, challenging China's rule in these areas, and images of His Holiness the Dalai Lama are considered especially sensitive.
Sources said "that the recently beef up of mass monitoring and surveillance campaigns seek to prevent celebration of the 80th birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama with grand festivity called "Ghyatoen" in the traditional way."
"Rabgyal is a native of Chigdril County, Amdo Golok region (Ch: Jiuzhi County, Golok prefecture, Qinghai province). He could not see his mother Choekyi who passed away on May 29 this year," sources said.
The Chinese regime has imposed severe restrictions on internet and phone connections by increasing a wider crackdown on communications across Tibet in an attempt to prevent any news reaching the outside world.
In Tibet today, Tibetans are being arbitrarily arrested, imprisoned and tortured for merely expressing their suffering under Chinese rule. However, authorities in Beijing still claim that "China 'peacefully liberated' Tibet, and that the "Tibetans are living in a Maoist socialist paradise."