Additional Name(s): Gengdeng Queji Nima, 更登确吉*尼玛, དགེ་འདུན་ཆོས་ཀྱི་ཉི་མ་

Gender: Male

Perpetrator: China

Ethnic Group: Tibetan

Religion or Belief: Buddhist – Tibetan

Date of Detainment: May/17/1995

Current Status: Unknown

Religious Leader: Yes

Most Recent Type of Abuse: Disappeared

Reason for Persecution: Religious Figure & Religious Leadership Role

Nature of Charges: Not Applicable

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima

Extra Bio Info:

Gedhun Choekyi Nyima was forcibly disappeared because of his religious leadership role.

On May 17, 1995, authorities abducted then six-year old Gedhun and his family.  The abduction came after the Dalai Lama chose Gedhun to be the 11th Panchen Lama, the second highest position in Tibetan Buddhism, on May 14, 1995.

On November 29, 1995, authorities announced their own pick to serve as the Panchen Lama: Gyancain Norbu.

On July 17, 2007, authorities said that Gedhun is a “perfectly ordinary Tibetan boy,” attending school and leading a normal life, and that he “does not wish to be disturbed.” Authorities said that the state employs both of his parents and that his brothers and sisters are either working or at university.

In May 2020, authorities said that Gedhun “received free compulsory education when he was a child, passed the college entrance examination and now has a job.”

Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) advocates for Gedhun as part of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission's Defending Freedoms Project.

Related Cases: Dechen Choedron, Konchog Phuntsog

Sources: