Responding to the arrest of a Han Chinese man in Lhasa, Tibet – the human rights activist Zhang Yi – Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks said:
“The arrest of Zhang Yi after he showed a photograph of the Dalai Lama while visiting a monastery is a chilling reminder of how far the Chinese authorities will go to police the peaceful exercise of human rights.
“This case bears all the hallmarks of the Chinese authorities’ long-standing misuse of the offence of “inciting separatism” to criminalize peaceful expression in Tibetan areas and in relation to Tibetan history, culture and religious belief.
“Displaying a photograph of a religious leader should never be treated as a threat to national security. The Chinese authorities must immediately release Zhang Yi as he has been detained solely for the peaceful exercise of his human rights.
“Pending his release, they must ensure that he has prompt access to his family and a lawyer of his own choosing. Authorities must protect him from torture and other ill-treatment while in detention.”
Background
According to an arrest notice received by his family on August 5 and seen by Amnesty International, Zhang Yi was formally arrested on July 28, 2026 on suspicion of “inciting separatism”(煽动分裂国家罪). His family was informed of the arrest by telephone on July 30.
Zhang Yi was detained by police in Lhasa on July 1, 2026 while visiting Sera Monastery in Tibet with his younger brother. After he was unable to communicate verbally with a Tibetan worshipper from whom he wished to borrow a prayer mat, Zhang Yi showed the person a photograph of the Dalai Lama on his mobile phone. According to his family abroad, two plainclothes men observed the interaction and appeared to record Zhang Yi and his brother as they left the prayer area. Police detained Zhang Yi before he had left the monastery.
Zhang’s family received a Criminal Detention Notice issued by the Lhasa Public Security Bureau on July 18, stating that he had been placed under criminal detention on suspicion of “inciting separatism” and was being held at Lhasa Detention Center. The authorities have not publicly disclosed the factual basis for the accusation.
Zhang Yi was detained on the same day that China’s Ethnic Unity Law entered into force on July 1, 2026. The law contains broad and vaguely worded provisions requiring the promotion of “ethnic unity” and a shared national identity, creating additional legal grounds for restricting the peaceful exercise of human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression, religion or belief, and cultural rights.
Amnesty International has repeatedly documented the Chinese authorities’ misuse of the offence of “inciting separatism” to prosecute Tibetans for the peaceful exercise of their human rights, including advocating for Tibetan language education and expressing views on religious freedom and the Dalai Lama.
Zhang Yi is a prominent Chinese pro-democracy activist and human rights defender from Wuhan, Hubei province. He first became politically active during the 1989 Tiananmen Square pro-democracy movement.
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