Police in western Sichuan province detained Kyab, a Tibetan teacher, writer, and editor, in his Serthar county home, according to international news reports. The reason for the arrest was not clear, and police would not produce documentation when his wife asked to see a warrant, the reports said. The detention took place amid a round-up of prominent Tibetan cultural figures in 2012, including singers, authors, and performers, according to international news reports.
Kyab was a well-known author and essayist, according to Invisible Tibet, a blog published by the Beijing-based Tibetan writer Woeser. He also edited the Tibetan-language magazine Hada,Radio Free Asia and the BBC Chinese service reported. CPJ could not independently confirm his whereabouts or the charges he faced.
“He wrote a lot of articles and books about the environment, Tibetan culture, everything. He wrote about the news,” Switzerland-based Tibetan activist Jamyang Tsering told CPJ by telephone. “He was arrested because of what he wrote.”