Dharamshala — A young Tibetan monk from Dhitsa Monastery in Palung County, in northeastern Tibet, died after being beaten by Chinese police while in custody. The monk was reportedly detained for disseminating information about the 2021 general elections of Tibetans in exile.
According to source, Chinese police reportedly detained a young Tibetan monk named Samten in 2021, accusing him of sharing information about the 2021 general election of Tibetans in exile via the Chinese social media app WeChat. Information regarding Tibetans in exile, and in particular that relating to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Central Tibetan Administration (the Tibetan government-in-exile), is banned in Tibet by the Chinese government, which also prohibits Tibetans from contacting their relatives in exile. If found in possession of such information or if they share it, Tibetans face interrogation, arrest, and years of imprisonment.
Samten was reportedly beaten and threatened during his interrogation by Chinese police, and he was reportedly placed under constant surveillance. Chinese authorities interrogated Samten again in December 2025 and beat him; he subsequently fell ill and was taken to the hospital in December 2025 by Chinese police, but he died and Chinese police handed his body over to Dhitsa Monastery in Palung County, on December 8, 2025. Chinese police warned the monks not to disclose any information about his death outside Tibet and to keep the case secret.
Following Samten’s detention by Chinese authorities, 50 monks under the age of 18 were expelled from Dhitsa Monastery. The monastery currently has approximately 400 monks.
