Chinese security personnel re-arrested Tenpa Gyatso, the former abbot of Ragya Monastery in Domey (Amdo), earlier this year. He was recently sentenced to five years in prison and has been placed in a prison in Xining.
According to a well-informed source inside Tibet, security personnel from the Machen County Public Security Bureau in Golok detained him on 5 August 2026, during the monastery’s summer retreat (yarne). They sealed his monastic quarters and barred anyone from entering. During a search of his quarters, they found photos of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and of Kyabje Shingza Rinpoche, the monastery’s spiritual head, inside an altar cabinet, along with a USB drive containing teachings by His Holiness.
Tenpa Gyatso was then held in Golok. Around 5 October, he was sentenced to five years and transferred to Xining’s largest prison, formerly known as the Brick Factory, in Qinghai Province. No other details are known. It is unclear whether he had a lawyer at his trial, whether his family was notified, or what charges were brought against him.
The source added that in 2025, during celebrations of His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s 90th birthday, Tenpa Gyatso encouraged local nomads to memorise long-life prayers for His Holiness and gave rewards to those who learned them by heart. Because of this, local police detained him for several months at the time, before eventually releasing him.
Restrictions in the area are now so severe that no one dares to speak about him, the source said.
