Media Profile & Archive — Wangdu (旺堆 / Wangdui). A chronological archive of reporting on the case of Wangdu, the Tibetan former monk and HIV/AIDS worker sentenced to life imprisonment in October 2008. See his full profile.
Case chronology
- March 8, 1989 — Arrested in Lhasa during the 1989 protests, the day martial law takes effect. Sentenced to 3 years’ “reform through labour,” later extended to 8 years after signing a petition with fellow prisoners; released in 1995.
- 2001 onward — Works as a health worker with the HIV Prevention in Lhasa Project (AusAID/Burnet Institute funding), providing HIV/AIDS education in Lhasa.
- March 14, 2008 — Arrested at his home in Lhasa by city public security officials during the 2008 protests; held incommunicado.
- October 27, 2008 — The Lhasa City Intermediate People’s Court sentences Wangdu to life imprisonment with lifetime deprivation of political rights for “endangering state security” (reported as espionage); transferred to Chushul prison. (HRW, citing official media)
- 2011 — Reported by official Chinese sources to be held in Drapchi prison, Lhasa.
- 2012 — Seen in a Lhasa hospital under police guard; Tibetan monitors report apparent signs of beatings in custody.
- May 21, 2019 — Human Rights Watch publishes “China: Free Tibetans Unjustly Imprisoned,” listing Wangdu among Tibetan political prisoners serving long sentences for the 2008 protests and calling for his release.
Source records
- Human Rights Watch, “China: Free Tibetans Unjustly Imprisoned,” May 21, 2019 — https://www.hrw.org/news/2019/05/21/china-free-tibetans-unjustly-imprisoned — “Wangdu, former monk and political prisoner, working for an HIV/AIDS program in Lhasa run by the Australian Burnet Institute at the time of his arrest in March 2008, was sentenced to life in prison on ‘espionage’ charges on October 27, 2008, according to official media. Wangdu was last seen in a Lhasa hospital, under guard, in 2012.”
- Wikipedia, “Wangdu (activist)” — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wangdu_(activist) — Biographical record: Dagzê County birth; Jokhang monk; 1989 arrest and extended sentence; post-1995 NGO and HIV/AIDS work; March 14, 2008 arrest; October 27/November 7, 2008 life sentence for “endangering state security”; Chushul/Drapchi imprisonment; 2012 hospital sighting with reported injuries.
- Issue 131 roster (2026-08-31) — lists 旺堆（Wangdu）（藏） in the 无期徒刑 (life imprisonment) band.
Provenance and limitations
The life-sentence facts are corroborated by Human Rights Watch (citing official Chinese media) and Wikipedia’s biographical record. Wangdu was last independently sighted in a Lhasa hospital under guard in 2012; his current whereabouts and condition have not been independently confirmed. Do not infer his current custody status beyond the dated evidence.