China has stepped up persecution of Buddhist monks with mass detentions, Tibet activists said Wednesday, a day after six monks were given lengthy prison sentences in the first trial of rioters since deadly violence in Tibet's capital last month. The International Campaign for Tibet said groups of Buddhist monks have been detained from several Lhasa monasteries, which have been sealed off by armed troops. PHAYUL: Mass detentions of monks, suicides and despair as enforced condemnation of Dalai Lama provokes dissent.
