On 31 January 2013, the Intermediate People’s Court of Ngaba (Ch: Aba) Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture handed Lobsang Kunchok, 40, with death penalty with two years’ reprieve and deprivation of political rights for life. His nephew, Lobsang Tsering, 31, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with his political rights deprived for three years, according to the Chinese government-owned news agency Xinhua.
Both Lobsang Kunchok and Lobsang Tsering were detained in August 2012 but their detention and police charges against them were announced only in December 2012 by the Chinese government.