Soepa
POLITICAL PRISONER- Does it have an image?
- No
- Gender
- Male
- Age at Detention
- 30
- Origin County Level
- Origin County Geolocation
Latitude: 29.7733333
Longitude: 106.513333
- Origin County Geolocation (linked POLITICAL PRISONER)
- Dzogang County(མཛོོ་སྒང་རྫོང་། )
- Origin Province
- Tibet Autonomous Region
- Origin Prefecture
- Chamdo (Ch: Qamdo) Prefecture
- Occupation at Detention
- Religious
- Vulnerable Group at Detention
- Religious
- Date of arrest
- 02/07/1996
- Detention Centre/Prison
- Drapchi Prison
- Description of event
Soepa, also known as Loden Thupten, was a former monk from Mancho Village in Dzogang County, formerly associated with Jampaling Monastery. At the age of 30, he was arrested on 2 May 1996 for peacefully expressing pro-independence views by pasting leaflets on electric poles and bridges in Chamdo bearing slogans such as “Free Tibet.”
Following his arrest, authorities identified him through handwriting analysis and detained him at Chamdo Detention Centre.
Despite the harsh treatment he endured, Soepa survived his full prison term and was released on 1 May 2001 upon completion of his sentence. His case stands as a stark example of the severe abuse faced by Tibetan prisoners of conscience for nonviolent political expression.
- Violations Faced in Detention
- Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment: Solitary Confinement
- Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment: Use of Tiger Chairs
- Details of Violations Faced in Detention
During his imprisonment, Soepa was subjected to extreme and systematic torture. He was repeatedly interrogated, often every two days, and severely beaten on his chest and body. In one particularly brutal session, he was stripped naked, shocked with electric batons, and suspended by his wrists for several hours, causing intense physical pain and lasting trauma.
- Types of Human Rights Violations
- Civil and Political Rights Violations: Right to Freedom of Expression and Opinion
- Length of Sentence
- 5 years
- Prison Location
- Status of Detention
- Released: Upon completion of sentence
- Date of release
- 01/05/2001
- Type of Sources
- Primary: TCHRD field sources
- Torture
- Torture
- Published
- Published