Go Sherab Gyatso (known as Gosher)

A prominent Tibetan writer, educator and public intellectual, Gosher is serving a 10-year prison sentence reportedly imposed following a secret trial held in December 2021. According to the Chinese government, he was detained by Chinese security services on 26 October 2020, in the Sichuan province’s city of Chengdu on suspicion of inciting secession. He was subsequently transferred to the Tibetan Autonomous Region where he was formally charged on 3 February 2021 (see Case Lists 2023-2024, 2022 and 2021). 

There are ongoing concerns over Gosher’s health and access to adequate medical care, following reports that he was detained while seeking medical treatment for a chronic lung condition.  On 4 July 2024, PEN International called for Gosher’s release during the adoption of China’s Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Gosher, born on 9 September 1976, is the author of over 10 books, including Wake Up (2007), General Knowledge & the Path (2011) and Insights of a Thinker (2013). Much of his writing centres on Tibetan Buddhism, language, and culture. An outspoken intellectual and advocate for Tibetan monastic education, this is the fourth time that the PRC authorities have imprisoned Gosher, who was previously detained in 1998, 2008 and 2011 for his criticism of Chinese government restrictions on Tibetan religious and cultural practices.