Chemi Tsering (born 1944), Pema Tso (born 1945), Jampa Sod (born 1962), Chime Gyaltsen (born 1967), Sonam Yeshi (born 1968), Ani Khalu (born 1965), and Bhe-she Tsewang Wangdue (born 1957) were among nine Tibetans arrested for participating in a large-scale peaceful protest in Kardze County, Kardze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture (TAP).

On 31 October 1999, around 3,000 Tibetans gathered in front of the Kardze County People’s Government offices and the Kardze Detention Centre to demand the release of Geshe Sonam Phuntsok, Sonam Choephel, and Agya Tsering, who had been arrested a week earlier. Chinese Public Security Bureau officials responded by opening fire on the unarmed crowd and forcibly dispersing the protest. At least ten Tibetans were arrested that day.

In February 2000, the Kardze County People’s Court sentenced nine protestors to five years’ imprisonment. They were publicly paraded through their villages to intimidate the local population, and at least two detainees were reportedly severely beaten. Following the 56th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights in May 2000, the sentences of all nine were arbitrarily increased by an additional five years, bringing their total prison terms to ten years.

Nearly 100 Tibetans were arrested in the crackdown that followed the Kardze protests of October–November 1999, though only 16 cases were later documented by the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy (TCHRD). These arrests and harsh sentences highlight the severe repression faced by Tibetans who peacefully protested for political and religious rights.