Chinese authorities have detained three locally well known Tibetans from a county in Nagchu following protests over Chinese interference in Tibetan monastic affairs in the county.Authorities detained a traditional doctor, a businessman, and a teacher from Driru county in Nagchu in late February.The detentions follow a protest against Chinese rule sparked by monks from Pekar Monastery and involving hundreds of local Tibetans in the county earlier that month.The three, all of whom have been linked to traditional Tibetan medicine, remain unaccounted for and are believed to be still in custody.
Ugyen Tenzin, a 55-year-old well known specialist in traditional Tibetan medicine, was taken in for interrogation by authorities in Driru on Feb. 28. He was later taken to the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, and held in the Lhasa public security bureau’s detention center.

Tenzin Thabkey, a graduate of the Tibet Medical Center, was another influential figure detained by Lhasa city police in the capital on Feb. 25 on charges that he had “stirred up social instability".

The businessman, Nyima Tsering, was detained on Feb. 23.