Portrait of Dorje Tseten
Photo: International Campaign for Tibet · Used with permission arranged by V-TAG, 2026-10-15
Record
SI-043
Date
Place
Outside the Jokhang Temple, Lhasa, the so-called Tibet Autonomous Region
Region
Ü-Tsang
Age
19
Affiliation
Worked in a restaurant in Lhasa
Outcome
Died CTA lists: Died on 27/5/2012.
Other spellings
Dorjee Tseten, Tobgye Tseten

What happened

According to ICT, Dorje Tseten, 19, set fire to himself together with Dargye outside the Jokhang Temple on 27 May 2012, during Saga Dawa, in the first self-immolation protest in Lhasa. ICT reported that he came from Labrang (Ch: Xiahe) in Amdo and had been renting a room in Lhasa after leaving high school; Voice of America reported that the two worked in a restaurant. ICT notes that Chinese state media (Xinhua) called him Tobgye Tseten.

Aftermath

According to ICT, the entire household where he rented a room was detained soon afterwards, and Lhasa’s Public Security Bureau set up a special task force to investigate.

Sources & References

Primary records