Tibetan father of four self-immolates amid oppressive measures to prevent Dalai Lama birthday celebrations

Photo of Tenzin Gyatso posted on Tibetan media sites.
Popular Tibetan singer Gonpo Tenzin given 3.5 year prison sentence

Gonpo Tenzin
One monk released from prison in Kardze as another monk is arrested

Palden Trinlay after his release (Photo: RFA)
In the same prefecture, a monk from Tawu Nyitso monastery was taken away by the police on Monday, May 18th. No reason has been stated for the arrest of the monk, named Tsewang Choephel, but there are suspicions that it may be related to his participation in a protest following an earlier self-immolation in Tawu.
Chinese rights lawyer Pu Zhiqiang charged after almost a year in detention
Pu Zhiqiang has been charged with inciting ethnic hatred and “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” Chinese authorities are using a series of tweets Pu made to justify these charges, which could add up to 8 years in prison. The tweets have been described by the South China Morning Post as “mostly sarcastic criticisms of the Communist Party and its policies towards ethnic minorities,” with one in particular aimed at Beijing’s policies requiring Tibetan monasteries to hang photographs of Chinese leaders like Mao Zedong and Hu Jintao.
Does the Beijing police think they can make us believe that #PuZhiqiang is being charged for anything else than being a courageous lawyer?
— Nicholas Bequelin 林伟 (@bequelin) May 15, 2015
PRI report: “In Tibet, bloggers post at their own risk”

Armed Chinese police outside the Jokhang in Lhasa (Image: Reuters)
Josh Eaton, an independent journalist, writes on the PRI site:
These are treacherous days for anyone in China who dares to publicly criticize government policy, especially when it comes to Beijing’s handling the troubled ethnic minority regions of Tibet.
A Tibetan blogger named Druklo is one of the latest people to find that out the hard way. Druklo was arrested by Chinese police in a part of Qinghai province that Tibetans call Rebkong, according to a Tibetan friend who now lives in exile. The friend asked to remain anonymous out of concern that making their friendship public might put Druklo at greater risk.
For more, please read the full story here.