28 May 2008
Tibetan detained for media contact
(RFA) Chinese authorities have detained a Tibetan man in Sichuan province for allegedly speaking to foreign reporters about the protests that swept the region earlier this year, RFA sources said. Nyima Drakpa was detained late 19 April in Dawu (Chin: Daofu). An RFA source said: "The security forces came in three vehicles from China, and they were not local police". He is reportedly being held in Dartsedo (Chin: Kangding), and is unable to contact his relatives. "It was alleged that he sent photos of protests and passed information to reporters in Hong Kong. He is a very smart person and had many connections", the source said. RFA sources said Nyima Drakpa had came to the attention of the authorities in the past by copying statements by the Dalai Lama, for which he was jailed for 15 days. He was later detained briefly for allegedly putting up posters calling for Tibetan independence, but was released when another man confessed.