A Lao-American pastor and two European journalists have been
freed by the Laos government less than two weeks after being sentenced to 15
years in jail amid international pressure, ASSIST News Service (ANS) monitored
Wednesday, July 9.
Pastor Naw Karl Mua, who now lives in St. Paul, Minnesota, was sentenced with
Belgian photojournalist Thierry Falise and French cameraman Vincent Reynaud on
charges of obstructing the work of the police, and possessing a weapon and an
explosive device.
Press advocacy groups as well as ANS and Christians around the world questioned
the charges, suggesting the real reason for the arrest was their plans to
report on the Hmong rebels, the remnants of a CIA army that fought communist
forces during the Vietnam War.
The Laotian government has denied the long-running rebellion exists and
describes the guerrillas as bandits. Its forces captured the pastor and
journalists after they were caught in a firefight on June 3 between Hmong
rebels and villagers in which a guard was reportedly killed.
"FARCE OF A TRIAL"
We didn't know whether they would keep us 10 years, six months or three
days," The Associated Press (AP) news agency quoted the Belgian journalist
as telling reporters on their arrival in the Thai capital Bangkok. "They
said, 'You're going to be released quite soon,' and then suddenly they changed
their minds and organized this farce of a trial," Falise added.
He described the two-hour trial in which he was convicted as"a mockery of
justice", the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported. ANS Chief
Correspondent Michael Ireland, who closely monitored the story, said the arrest
of especially the pastor in his native Laos made "social activists"
turn him "into a living emblem of the need to address human-rights issues
in that country."
"They had called for the release of the Rev. Naw-Karl Mua through letters,
protests and news reports, demanding that the Bush administration suspend
efforts to normalize trade relations with Laos," Ireland said.
LEAST DEVELOPED COUNTRY
That would be a major blow for the a land-locked nation of 5.3 million people,
which depends on foreign aid and is Southeast Asia's least developed country.
Nearly 77 percent of its people reportedly live on less than $2 a day.
To confirm the news of his release, Rep. Betty McCollum, D-Minn., called Mua's
wife, who reportedly wired $2,500 to the Laotian government to cover costs.
"She was very relieved and pleased that official confirmation had
come," said Bill Harper, chief of staff to the congresswoman, whose St.
Paul district includes a large Hmong community, AP reported.
However the pastor, who served as an interpreter, and the journalists were were
concerned about two Hmong rebels who were arrested with them and remain
imprisoned to serve 15-year sentences.
REBELS BEHIND BARS
The government has no plans to release the rebels, said Sodom Phetrasy, deputy
head of the Laotian Foreign Ministry's press department. "I think they
should be punished according to our verdict," Sodom told AP.
He said the three were released because of concerns expressed by France,
Belgium and the United States. "We would like to maintain good relations
with these countries," he explained.
A representative of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists
welcomed the men's release but noted that Laos remains largely closed to
international media. "The fact remains that they never should have been
arrested in the first place," AP quoted A. Lin Neumann, a Bangkok-based
consultant to the committee, as saying.