9 July 2003

Alert

Journalists and translator released from prison


Incident details

Thierry Falise, Vincent Reynaud, Rev. Naw Karl Mua

released
(CPJ/IFEX) - The following is a CPJ press release:

JOURNALISTS AND TRANSLATOR RELEASED FROM LAOTIAN PRISON

New York, July 9, 2003-The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) welcomes the release today of Belgian journalist Thierry Falise, French cameraman Vincent Reynaud, and their American translator and guide, Rev. Naw Karl Mua. Their release comes one week after the three were each sentenced to 15 years in prison for their alleged involvement in the murder of a village security guard.

"We are delighted that Laotian authorities have finally freed these journalists," said CPJ executive director Ann Cooper. "But the fact that they were arrested and prosecuted on trumped-up murder charges is a stark reminder of the extreme measures the Laotian government will take to deter independent reporting. Press conditions in Laos are among the worst in the world."

Laotian security forces arrested the group on June 4 in a remote corner of northern Laos, where the journalists were reporting on a little-known anti-government rebellion by members of the ethnic Hmong minority. The government has long denied the existence of the anti-communist rebel movement, which has been around for decades, and has suppressed information about the military's efforts to crush the insurgency.

On June 30, the journalists were convicted and sentenced in proceedings that took little more than two hours, in a courtroom that was closed to the foreign press.

Falise, Reynaud, and Mua were freed after intensive diplomatic efforts by European and U.S. diplomats. According to The Associated Press news agency, two Hmong rebels arrested along with them remain in prison.

CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information about press conditions in Laos, visit www.cpj.org.



Source:

Committee to Protect Journalists
330 7th Ave., 11th Floor
New York, NY 10001
USA
info (@) cpj.org
Phone: +1 212 465 1004
Fax: +1 212 465 9568
 

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More on this case

IFJ calls for release of journalists' guides who remain imprisoned 10 July 2003 Journalists detained for one month without any concrete progress 7 July 2003 Court sentences journalists and their translator to 15 years in prison 30 June 2003 Two journalists still held, no significant progress after three weeks in detention 24 June 2003 CPJ calls for journalists' release 12 June 2003 Belgian reporter and French cameraman detained in Vientiane 10 June 2003

Laos

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