[JURIST] Nepalese police detained more than 500 Tibetan monks, refugees, and other protesters near the Chinese Embassy [embassy website, in English] in Kathmandu Thursday as demonstrations continued against China's recent crackdown against pro-Tibet protests [BBC backgrounder]. Thursday's detentions follow a sweep of arrests [JURIST report] in late March in which hundreds were taken into Nepalese police custody. Since demonstrations began in March, the local office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights [official website] has criticized Nepal [press release, PDF] for its actions against protesters and for restricting the right to peaceful assembly.

Rights groups have criticized China for ongoing human rights violations [HRW materials] targeted at Tibetans, and many call for the total independence [advocacy website] of the currently "semi-autonomous" region. In March, police in China detained 953 people [JURIST report], of whom 403 have been formally arrested, in connection with protests against Chinese rule in Tibet. A top Tibetan official has been quoted as saying that Tibetan courts will prosecute more than 1,000 protesters [JURIST report] before May 1. AP has more.