On August 1, 2007, Runggye Adak, a nomad from Lithang, Kham in eastern Tibet was arrested for publicly calling for the return of the Dalai Lama to Tibet.  During the Lithang Horse Racing Festival in Tibet, Runggye took the microphone on the stage and called to the crowd,"These days there are those who say we don't need the Dalai Lama. The Dalai Lama is the one that we six million Tibetans truly [need]...".

For this simple act of expressing his opinion Runggye Adak was promptly arrested and later sentenced to eight year in prison for “provocation to subvert state power”, along with three other Tibetans, Adak Lupoe, Jamyang Kunkhyen and Lothok, who attempted to tell people in the outside world about Runggye Adak's arrest.

In response to Runggye Adak’s arrest, over two hundred Tibetans congregated outside Lithang police station to appeal for his release. Eye witness reports describe how police and soldiers violently dispersed local gatherings in Lithang by using tear gas, stun grenades and metal batons. Hundreds of local government officials have been ordered to attend meetings to condemn Adak’s actions.

When Runggye Adak was sentenced he was said to have told the court: “I wanted His Holiness to return, and I wanted to raise Tibetan concerns and grievances, as there is no outlet for us to do so. That made me sad and made me act.”