Zhang Yi detained in Lhasa for showing Dalai Lama photo, Amnesty calls for release

Human‑rights activist Zhang Yi, a Han Chinese man, was arrested in Lhasa, Tibet after he showed a photograph of the Dalai Lama to a worshipper at Sera Monastery. Police detained him on 1 July 2026 and formally charged him on 28 July 2026 with “inciting separatism”, a charge often used by Chinese authorities to suppress peaceful expression in Tibetan areas.

Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks said the arrest “is a chilling reminder of how far the Chinese authorities will go to police the peaceful exercise of human rights”. She called for Zhang Yi’s immediate release, access to his family and a lawyer of his choosing, and protection from torture or ill‑treatment while in detention. The family received a criminal detention notice on 18 July and was first informed of the arrest on 30 July. The case coincides with the implementation of China’s new Ethnic Unity Law, which broadens requirements for “ethnic unity” and national identity.

Amnesty stresses that displaying a photograph of a religious leader should never be treated as a threat to national security and urges Chinese authorities to free Zhang Yi.