China court jails eight Tibetans: rights group

Source: AFP

BEIJING — A court in northwest China has sentenced eight Tibetans to jail terms ranging up to seven years for involvement in unrest earlier this year, an overseas Tibetan rights group said.

The group, which included six monks, was sentenced on Thursday at a court in Machen county in Qinghai province, the Tibetan Centre for Human Rights and Democracy reported in a statement.

They were found guilty of inciting demonstrations against the Chinese government in the ethnic Tibetan town of Rabgya in March, according to the group based in Dharamshala, India -- home of the Tibetan government-in-exile.

A mob attacked the police station in Rabgya, triggering a massive security clampdown.

According to the Tibetan rights group, the unrest broke out after a monk drowned when he tried to escape from police detention by jumping into a river.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hDtruyH0P30eK0Phd8EqMv4e-GiA

not.