In 1997, Woeser was 14 when he joined his cousin Dothuk and some other monks in pasting leaflets calling for Tibetan independence in the county town. The other unknown monks hailed from Nyagrong (Ch: Xinlong) County in Kardze (Ch: Ganzi) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Sichuan Province who had come to Pema County for religious education. Woeser was subsequently detained and sentenced to five years for engaging in political activity, his prison release document shows.