DJ Laos Says Won't Show Leniency Toward Detained Journalists
PHNOM PENH (AP)--Laos will show no leniency toward two European journalists and an ethnic Hmong-American arrested in the communist country for alleged involvement in a murder, its foreign minister said Sunday.
Foreign Minister Somsavath Lengsavath, who is in Cambodia to attend a regional meeting, said "prosecutors will bring the case to court very soon."
Belgian photojournalist Thierry Falise, French cameraman Vincent Reynaud and their Hmong interpreter, Naw Karl Mua - a U.S. citizen - were arrested June 4 in northeastern Laos. Police accuse them of cooperating with bandits to kill a village security official.
In an interview with The Associated Press, Somsavath also questioned the journalists' professional credentials.
"These people aren't journalists. They even undermine the dignity of journalism for being part of the bandit operation," said Somsavath.
Press-freedom groups have described the murder charges as sham, saying the three men are being punished for reporting on ethnic Hmong rebels fighting the communist government.
The rebels are remnants of what was a U.S.-backed army that fought against the Lao communists during the Vietnam War. The rebels operate in deep jungles and few outsiders have seen them.
Asked if the government will deport the foreigners to prevent a possible embarrassing tiff with their governments, Somsavath said, "There will be no compromise or negotiation. They are facing the charge of cooperating with bandits to kill a village defense personnel...they are part of the movement, because they were with the bandits at the time of the killing of a Lao person."
He added that the three may also be charged with "supporting a movement of bandits, but the case is up to the investigator."
He didn't say what punishment they face if the two charges are upheld.
Laos, a secretive nation, is often accused by the U.S. and other Western countries of ignoring human rights by restricting freedom of speech and movement.
The U.S. Embassy has complained that it hasn't been allowed consular access to Maw, the Hmong-American.
Falise, a former Associated Press reporter in Paris, is a Bangkok-based freelance journalist and photographer. A regular contributor to the French news weekly L'Express and Belgian media, he has covered the plight of ethnic minorities in remote parts of Asia, including India and Myanmar.
Reynaud is a freelance cameraman who has lived in Thailand for the last 10 years and contributes to a host of European television stations.
