UN slams China and Vietnam over the Tibetan Lama's mysterious death

Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) [India], October 9 (ANI): The UN human rights experts have demanded that China and Vietnam explain the arrest, disappearance, and disputed death of prominent Tibetan spiritual leader Tulku Hungkar Dorje Rinpoche, who reportedly died under suspicious circumstances in Ho Chi Minh City earlier this year, as reported by Phayul.

According to Phayul, in two formal communications addressed to Vietnam and China issued on August 8, 2025, the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, and the Special Rapporteurs on Extrajudicial Executions and Minority Issues expressed "serious alarm" over the case.

The experts warned that both governments might have breached international human rights law through their handling of the Tibetan lama's detention and death.

Tulku Hungkar Dorje, born in 1969, was the abbot of Lung Ngon Thubten Choekor Ling Monastery in Gade County, Golok, Amdo. Renowned for his humanitarian projects, he helped build schools and health facilities for Tibetan nomadic communities and was widely revered for his religious teachings and community leadership.

The lama was first detained in August 2024 in Qinghai Province for resisting Chinese pressure to conduct state-controlled religious events. Following his release, he fled to Vietnam seeking safety.

However, on March 25, 2025, Vietnamese authorities, allegedly accompanied by Chinese officials, arrested him in Ho Chi Minh City. His whereabouts remained unknown until officials announced four days later that he had died of a heart attack, despite having no prior medical history of such illness.

His cremation on April 20, carried out under the supervision of both Chinese and Vietnamese officials without family consent, has been described by Tibetan advocacy groups as highly irregular. Restrictions were later placed on his monastery, and dissemination of his teachings was quietly suppressed, as cited by Phayul.

UN experts emphasised that any death in custody creates a presumption of state responsibility and reminded both nations of their obligations under the Minnesota Protocol (2016), which mandates transparent, independent investigations into such incidents.

Neither China nor Vietnam has responded within the UN's 60-day deadline.

The case has since drawn global condemnation, with rights groups warning that it reflects China's increasing cross-border repression of Tibetan religious figures, as reported by Phayul. (ANI)

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