Name: Sonam Tobgya
Age: late twenties
Sex: Male
Status: Monk
Date of self-immolation: July 9, 2015
location: Kyegudo (Chinese: Yushu) Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Qinghai province
Current whereabouts/wellbeing: Unknown
A Tibetan monk in his late twenties, Sonam Topgyal, set fire to himself in the main square of Kyegudo (Yushu) yesterday (July 9), in an atmosphere of heightened security imposed around the period of the Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday on July 6. According Tibetan exile sources, Sonam Topgyal was taken away by armed police while still alive and is believed to be in hospital, although his whereabouts and welfare is not known.