Ngawang Pelyang, a nun from Chubsang Nunnery and a native of Meldrogungkar County, was arrested on 2 February 1995 for staging a brief pro-independence protest in the Barkhor area of Lhasa. She and four other nuns were detained at Gutsa Detention Centre until 30 July 1995, when they were transferred to Drapchi Prison.The other four nuns involved in the same protest were Penpa, Ngawang Tsering, Yeshi Pema, and Khetsun Yeshi.

In June 1995, the Lhasa Intermediate People’s Court sentenced Ngawang Pelyang to six years’ imprisonment. She has remained incarcerated in Drapchi Prison since that time.