Karma Samdrup was released from jail after serving 15 years sentence

After completing a 15-year term, well-known Tibetan environmentalist and philanthropist Karma Samdrup was freed from jail.

Although some sources claim that his release may have taken place a day earlier, on November 18, reports state that his incarceration officially ended on November 19, 2024. Another limitation, a five-year suspension of political rights that begins immediately, is imposed upon Samdrup’s release. Details on his present location and health, however, are still unknown.

After working to secure the release of his brothers Rinchen Samdrup and Chime Namgyal, who had both been imprisoned for disclosing illicit poaching operations in Tibet, Samdrup was taken into custody on January 3, 2010. After visiting his siblings in jail, Karma Samdrup was arrested, suggesting that his incarceration may have been a reprisal for his support of the environment.

Karma Samdrup was first accused of stealing cultural relics and excavating tombs; these charges were first made in 1998 but were resurrected when he was arrested in 2010. In June 2010, the Yanqi Hui Xinjiang District Court sentenced him to 15 years in jail, even though the allegations had previously been dropped.

The case of Karma Samdrup, who challenged the government’s new rules in May 2010 against the unlawful gathering of evidence and accused police officials of systematic torture throughout his imprisonment, served as a testament to China’s contentious legal system.

During his trial on June 22, 2010, he said that in order to get a confession from him, Chinese officials had regularly beaten him, forced other prisoners to hit him, kept him up for days at a time, and gave him a medicine that made his eyes and ears bleed.

The Achung Senge Namgyal Voluntary Environmental Protection Association, which was founded by Karma Samdrup and his brothers, gained notoriety for its environmental campaigning. Despite his incarceration, Samdrup’s case has brought Tibet’s repression of human rights and environmental action to the attention of the world.

Because of their involvement, Samdrup’s siblings also had to deal with legal issues. Chime Namgyal spent time in a work camp, while Rinchen Samdrup was given a five-year jail term and freed in 2014. Human rights organizations are concerned about Samdrup’s treatment while in detention since it is currently unclear how well he is doing and what his circumstances will be after being released.