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Tibetan farmer still missing after 20 days
On 1 November, 44-year-old Lhaten received a phone call from his son’s elementary school. When he went to pick him up, he was detained by plainclothes police and taken away in a black car. He is suspected of ties with Dhondup Wangchen, a Tibetan filmmaker arrested for making a documentary on the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Lhasa (AsiaNews) – Lhaten, a 44-year-old farmer, disappeared 20 days ago, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy has reported. Nothing is known of his state of health or whereabouts.
On 1 November at around 3 pm (local time), he received a telephone call from an ethnic Chinese teacher from Taktse County Primary School, asking him to come and get his son. When he arrived at the school, plainclothes policemen were waiting for him. The school gatekeeper reportedly said they took him away in a black car.
Lhaten is suspected of ties with Dhondup Wangchen, a Tibetan filmmaker charged with “subversion” and sentenced to six years in prison for making a documentary titled ‘Leaving Fear Behind’ ahead of the 2008 Olympics.
In the movie, the author looks at the attitudes of ordinary Tibetans vis-à-vis the Beijing Olympics, the Dalai Lama and Chinese policies towards Tibet.
A farmer and the sole bread earner for his family, Lhaten lives with his wife Passang Choedon and their three children in Shingtsang Village, Taktse County, Lhasa Municipal (Tibetan Autonomous Region). (NC)