Ven. Zega Gyatso
POLITICAL PRISONER- Name in Tibetan and Pinyin
- དགེ་འདུན་པ་མཛེས་དགའ་རྒྱ་མཚོ་ལགས།
- Does it have an image?
- Yes
- Gender
- Male
- Age at Detention
- 48
- Detention Year
- 2020s: 2025
- Origin County Level
- Ba County
- Origin County Geolocation
Latitude: 32.0833
Longitude: 93.6
- Origin County Geolocation (linked POLITICAL PRISONER)
- Ba County
- Origin Province
- Qinghai Province
- Origin Prefecture
- Tsolho (Ch: Hainan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture
- Date of Detention
- 02/07/2025
- Occupation at Detention
- Religious
- Vulnerable Group at Detention
- Religious
- Description of event
Around 2 July 2025, Ven. Zega Gyatso, a monk from Tsang Monastery in Ba County, Tsolho (Ch: Hainan) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, was forcibly taken by Chinese police in Siling (Ch: Xining).
He was detained and interrogated for six months before being released on 2 January 2026.
- Violations Faced in Detention
- Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment: Forced Labor
- No Fair Trial: No family meet ups
- No Fair Trial: No legal representation
- Status of Detention
- Released: On medical parole
- Date of release
- 02/01/2026
- Consequences of Detention After Release
Ven. Zega Gyatso suffered from joint pain and has developed poor vision, even though he had no previous eye problems. This is believed to be the result of prolonged exposure to bright lights during his detention. However, sources inform that detailed information about his condition is difficult to obtain due to restrictions.
The same source also stated that although he has been released, Chinese authorities continue to closely monitor and restrict his movements and activities. Just three days after returning home, he was summoned back to Siling (Ch: Xining) and forced to sign a document promising not to take part in any actions that go against the government’s interests.
- Type of Sources
- Secondary: Third Party Media
- Torture
- Torture
- Published
- Published