Gyaltsen Sangmo, a 24-year-old Tibetan nun from Garu Nunnery near Lhasa, was arrested on 14 June 1993 together with ten other nuns. The group was accused of taking part in a pro-independence demonstration advocating Tibetan independence, although reports indicate that they were detained before the protest could begin.

Following her arrest, Gyaltsen Sangmo was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment. She was reportedly held with other Tibetan nuns who received prison sentences ranging from two to seven years for similar political activities. Her case forms part of a broader pattern of arrests and imprisonment of Tibetan religious practitioners for peaceful political expression during the early 1990s.