Laos Releases 2 Western Journalists, Hmong-Amercian Interpreter

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Thursday, July 10, 2003

Laos Releases 2 Western Journalists, Hmong-Amercian Interpreter

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The Laotian government Wednesday released 2 European journalists and their Hmong-American interpreter who were sentenced to jail terms last week for the death of a village security guard, the Channel 9 reported.

According to the report, Laotian Foreign Minister Lengsavat Somsavat said earlier Wednesday that Laos had reached an agreementto release the men, but gave no details of the deal, and then the 3 persons were sent to the French, Belgian and US embassies representatively in Vientiane at 14:30 p.m.

French photographer Vincent Reynaud, Belgian freelance reporterThierry Falise and American pastor Naw Karl Mua along with 3 ethnic Hmong men were convicted by a Laotian court of being involved in an incident that caused the death of a militiaman, possessing war weapons and illicit narcotics and obstructing security officers.

France, Belgium and the United States called the 15-year imprisonment sentences given to their citizens were too excessive.However, as to the 3 local Hmong who received 12-to-20-year jail terms, no foreign agency has stepped forward to question their sentences.

The Laotian government argued it had handled the case carefullyin order to avoid harming international relations, and the punishments were fair.

The French, Belgian and American ambassadors met with Laotian Deputy Foreign Minister Phongsavath Boupha early this month to discuss political and diplomatic avenues to resolve the dispute.

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