Reported By Kelsang Jinpa
Translated By TenGyal
Edited by Kelsang Jinpa
Tibetan environmental activist Anyak Sengdra has been released following the completion of his prison sentence. Although he has currently returned to his residence in his hometown of Kyangche, there is no clear information regarding his current health condition or whether his freedom of movement remains restricted.
According to verified information received by the Tibet Times, Tibetan environmental activist Anyak Sengdra was released from Men Yang Prison on February 8, 2026, after completing a seven-year sentence. He has since returned to his residence in Kyang Che, his native village in Gade County, Golog. However, clear information regarding his physical and mental health remains unavailable, and it is still uncertain whether his freedom of movement continues to be restricted.
The Tibetan environmental and anti-corruption activist Anyak Sengdra became a highly respected figure among the local nomadic population after exposing and protesting systemic corruption. He exposed local government officials who were involved in abuse of authority, embezzlement, illegal mining activities and poaching of endangered wildlife. In retaliation for his activism against these injustices, Chinese authorities arrested him in 2014 on fabricated charges, sentencing him to one year and three months in prison.
On October 18, 2016, he was initially released from Dongchuan Prison in Xining. However, in 2018, the Chinese government arrested him again on trumped-up charges of “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” Despite his wife Yangkyi, his lawyer Lin Qilei, and his supporters filing a series of legal petitions and appeals between late 2018 and early 2019, he was arrested again on December 6, 2019. He was sentenced to seven years for “disturbing social order” and “gathering a crowd to disturb public order.” Although Sengdra completed his seven-year term in September of last year, the Chinese government accused him of engaging in criminal activities while incarcerated and extended his detention, decreeing he would only be released in February 2026.
Anyak Sengdra, currently 55 years old, is a native of Kyangche Township in Gade County, Golog, Tibet. He established an organization called Mangdon Ling “Discussion of Public Affairs”, a grassroots platform to highlight numerous issues, including the local government’s embezzlement of public relief funds provided by higher authorities, illegal mining activities, and discrimination.
Furthermore, he has highlighted the neglect of the people’s welfare—specifically the lack of support for impoverished local residents. He has taken these grievances and reports to the county, prefectural, and provincial levels to seek justice.
