Lobsang Younten
POLITICAL PRISONER- Does it have an image?
- No
- Gender
- Male
- Age at Detention
- 15
- Origin County Level
- Origin County Geolocation
Latitude: 29.6526199
Longitude: 91.13775
- Origin County Geolocation (linked POLITICAL PRISONER)
- Lhasa(ལྷ་ས།)
- Origin Province
- Tibet Autonomous Region
- Origin Prefecture
- Lhasa
- Occupation at Detention
- Education
- Vulnerable Group at Detention
- Juvenile
- Date of arrest
- 19/03/1959
- Description of event
Lobsang Yonden was arrested at the age of fifteen on 19 March 1959 in Lhasa, in the aftermath of the Tibetan national uprising, together with his father, Phurbu Wangyal. He subsequently endured more than two decades of imprisonment and forced labor under extremely harsh and punitive conditions.
Detention and Forced Labor History
Shol Detention Centre, Lhasa (below the Potala Palace): Site of initial arrest in 1959 following the Tibetan uprising.
Norbu Lingkha, Lhasa (the Dalai Lama’s former summer residence): Used as a temporary detention and interrogation facility.
Ngachen Electricity Plant (Ruchen Unit), east of Lhasa: Forced labor camp involving industrial labor.
Taring House Prison, Lhasa: Detained alongside approximately 300 prisoners under severe conditions.
East Police Prison (later known as Gutsa Prison), Lhasa: Marked by extreme starvation, overcrowding, and inhumane detention conditions.
Netang Brick-Making Factory: Subjected to harsh forced labor for a period of one year.
Penpo Lung Chang Agricultural Unit: Five years of compulsory agricultural labor.
Powo (Sundzong Prison), southwest Kham: Forced relocation and imprisonment during the Cultural Revolution.
Nyingtri (Phamo Chrang Prison): Deforestation labor camp holding more than 200 prisoners.
Lhemi Rugak Work Unit: Repeated cycles of forced labor and detention lasting until 1981.
- Place(s) of Previous Detention
- Detention centre
- Labour camp
- Prison
- Violations Faced in Detention
- Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment: Forced Labor
- Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment: Military Style Training
- Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment: Solitary Confinement
- Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment: Use of Tiger Chairs
- Details of Violations Faced in Detention
Throughout his detention, Lobsang Yonden was repeatedly transferred between prisons and labor camps, where he was subjected to brutal interrogations, starvation, prolonged “thamzing” (public struggle) sessions, and forced labor lasting up to twelve hours per day. Conditions were so severe that deaths among prisoners were common, resulting from exhaustion, industrial accidents, illness, or suicide. In 1961, he was falsely accused of engaging in “anti-communist” activities and sentenced to ten years of hard labor. He was later transferred to deforestation camps, where physical abuse and deprivation continued unabated.
Although he was nominally “released” in 1969, Lobsang Yonden remained officially classified as politically unreliable and was compelled to continue forced labor. In 1973, he was re-arrested for expressing opposition to Chinese government policies and subjected once again to torture and prolonged solitary confinement. His imprisonment and mistreatment persisted until 1981, marked by continuous physical and psychological abuse.
- Types of Human Rights Violations
- Civil and Political Rights Violations: Right to Freedom of Expression and Opinion
- Length of Sentence
- 10 years
- Prison Location
- Consequences of Detention After Release
Members of his immediate family were also directly affected by state repression, including his father, Phurbu Wangyal, and his sister, Penpa Dolma, underscoring the collective punishment imposed on Tibetan families perceived as politically disloyal.
- Type of Sources
- Primary: TCHRD field sources
- Torture
- Torture
- Published
- Published
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