WASHINGTON - Authorities in China have sentenced two monks and
a layman to three-year jail terms, apparently on suspicion that they were
involved in putting up posters advocating Tibetan independence, Radio Free
Asia (RFA) reports.

Topden and Dzokar, both monks at Chogri Monastery, and layman Lobsang
Tsering were handed three-year sentences in August, sources told RFA's
Tibetan service. Chogri Monastery is in Drakgo County-Lu Huo County in
Chinese-in a part of traditionally Tibetan territory now under Sichuan
Province administration.

Sources who asked not to be named said Chinese authorities apparently
suspected monks at the Chogri Monastery might have been responsible for
posting a series of pro-independence posters on government buildings in the
area in July.

An official at the Chinese Public Security Bureau in Lu Huo County,
contacted by telephone, declined to comment directly on the case because it
had been designated "secret."

But sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said the three men were
among 60 people initially arrested July 27 at a reception ceremony for a
monk, Draksey Rimpoche, on his return to Chogri Monastery from Switzerland.

As part of the reception, guests raised religious banners that in some cases
included an image of a snow lion chasing an object resembling the banned
Tibetan national flag, witnesses said.

Most of those detained were released after spending several days in custody
and some paid 6,000-yuan fines, witnesses said. Some were beaten during
their detention, according to witnesses.

"Two men were beaten so severely prison [that] they can't even walk on their
own feet," one witness said.

Draksey Rimpoche subsequently cut short his visit home and returned to
Switzerland while he still had a valid visa. He was unavailable for comment.

"Draksey Rimpoche originally planned to stay for two months in his home
town, but after all this harassment he stayed only 11 days and went back to
Switzerland," said another source who asked not to be named.

In its 2003 report on human rights around the world, the U.S. State
Department noted that political imprisonment in the Tibetan Autonomous
Region (TAR) had declined from its 1996 peak. But it added that the number
of political prisoners in parts of Sichuan Province-particularly in Kardze
Prefecture, where the Chogri Monastery is located-had risen.

"There were credible reports that prisoners continued to be mistreated," the
report said. "The Government's human rights record in Tibetan areas of China
remained poor, although some positive developments continued."

"The Government controlled information about all Tibetan areas, and in
addition, strictly controlled access to the TAR, making it difficult to
determine accurately the scope of human rights abuses. Authorities continued
to commit serious human rights abuses, including execution without due
process, torture, arbitrary arrest, detention without public trial, and
lengthy detention of Tibetans for peacefully expressing their political or
religious views."