Sampo Tsewang Rigzin belonged to the most famous aristocratic family in Tibet that once produced a DalaiLama. In the 1950s, Sampo was cooperating with the CCP and even benefitted from it, but during the Cultural Revolution he suffered miserably.
On the photos, we see the Red Guards and “zealots” denouncing him, making him wear apparel of a fourth or higher-ranking Tibetan government official. This served as a reason to humiliate him to the point that he lost all his dignity.
His youngest son tried to escape to India, but was caught. At the time, many Tibetans went on the hard journey to India and if they were caught, they would be accused of particularly severe “treason”. Sampo’s son was executed by firing squad when he was not even 20 years old.
