Thubten and another man, Ciren Banyue, were given the death penalty while a third man was sentenced to three years` prison for hiding daggers used in the killings. Thubten and Ciren said they planned to appeal, according to the court statement.
Akong`s monastery Kagyu Samye Ling, which is based in southwest Scotland with branches in Europe and Africa, has denied it owed Thubten pay. It did not immediately have comment on the sentences.
Born in 1939, Akong was recognized at age 2 by a search party as a lama incarnate and entered the Dolma Lhakhang monastery before fleeing to India as Chinese forces moved in to stamp out the 1959 Tibetan uprising. He moved to Britain several years later, studied at Oxford University and founded his Buddhist center in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, in 1967.
The monk, who became a British citizen, maintained friendly relations with the Chinese government and frequently visited the country to look after charity projects. Akong was on a fundraising trip when he was stabbed.
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