Dakpa Gyaltsen(also known as Namgyal Tsering) and Sangye Tashi, monks of Rong-Gonchen Monastery, were arrested in April 1999 on charges related to the distribution of photographs of the Dalai Lama. The arrest formed part of a broader campaign targeting religious expression and political symbolism.

For Dakpa Gyaltsen, this detention marked his second arrest. He had previously been taken into custody in February 1997 following a security raid on the monastery. During that earlier operation, authorities reportedly found a Tibetan national flag in his room bearing the inscription, “Tibet is an independent country".