Three sisters, Nhia Vue, 12, Mai Ker Vue, 14, and Xiong Vue, 16, have been missing since 5 December 2005. They were among 27 ethnic Hmong people, 22 of them children, who were forcibly returned to Laos by the Thai authorities, after being arrested for entering Thailand illegally. Reports indicate that the girls have been in a prison outside the town of Paksen in Bolikhamsay province. Conditions are said to be hard.
