Sobho, a 28-year-old Tibetan from Derge County in Karze (TAR), Sichuan Province, was a former monk at the Serthar Buddhist Institute. He fled Tibet in 2001 after Chinese authorities expelled thousands of monks and nuns and demolished living quarters at Serthar.

On 7 May 2003, while attempting to escape through Nepal, Sobho was arrested at the Barabise checkpoint. He was detained for six days before being transferred to Nepal’s Immigration Department. Unable to pay the heavy fines and visa penalties imposed on him, he received a default prison sentence of ten months at Nepal’s Central Bhadra Jail.

Following international pressure and intervention by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Sobho was released on 17 June 2003 and placed under the care of the Tibetan Refugee Reception Centre in Kathmandu. After his release, he expressed serious concern for other Tibetan deportees, warning that without international protection they faced a high risk of torture and persecution if forcibly returned to Tibet.