International Campaign for Tibet

July 29, 2014

Golog Jigme, a respected Tibetan monk, teacher and former political prisoner, arrived safely in India in May after a perilous journey into exile from Tibet following 20 months in hiding.

Golog Jigme (Jigme Gyatso) worked with film-maker Dhondup Wangchen in interviewing 108 Tibetans about their views and feelings before the Beijing Olympics in 2008. The interviews became a powerful documentary, ‘Leaving Fear Behind’, that enabled the voices of Tibetan nomads, elders, monks and others in remote areas across the plateau to be heard in international capitals, by Parliamentarians, government officials, exile Tibetans and even journalists in Beijing.

As a result of the film, Dhondup Wangchen was imprisoned for six years; he was released on June 5 (2014) and remains in Tibet. Jigme Gyatso was arrested, severely tortured, and held for seven months before he was released in October 2008. In 2012, he was detained again, and managed to escape from custody and to go into hiding, where he remained under constant fear of re-arrest prior to his escape.