Responding to the confirmation of the detention of Chinese human rights lawyer Lu Siwei, who was arrested in Laos in July, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for China, Sarah Brooks, said: “Lu Siwei’s confirmed detention in China is a heartbreaking outcome for his family, with whom he had been attempting to reunite in the USA.…
Lao authorities must urgently launch an investigation into the attack on a human rights defender who was shot in a cafe over the weekend, Amnesty International said today. Anousa “Jack” Luangsouphom’s social media posts about human rights issues in Laos amassed a large following. Believed to be 25 years old, he was shot by an…
Reacting to the vast numbers of people worldwide expected to mark Earth Day on 22 April, Marta Schaaf, Amnesty International’s Director of Climate, Economic and Social Justice, and Corporate Accountability programme said: “Hundreds of millions of people around the world are expected to mark Earth Day this year, reflecting growing and well-founded concerns about the…
As the world marks International Women’s Day, Amnesty International recognizes the work of six distinguished women human rights activists who have faced harassment, threats, imprisonment, and violence for standing up for human rights in the region. “In Southeast Asia, there are few governments who can be proud of their human rights records, but there are…
This year, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) marks 50 years of its existence. The region is a source of envy when it comes to economic progress, boasting the highest levels of economic growth seen anywhere outside China and India. But when it comes to human rights, there’s been a marked regression. Over the…
Nestled in the Mekong region, with mighty China to its north, is landlocked Laos. Famed for its sedate surroundings, and tragically the country where the U.S. dropped more than 260 million bombs during its war in Indochina, it rarely receives the attention received by its more prominent neighbours. This week, Barack Obama will become the…
As the International Day of the Disappeared is marked around the world, the Laos authorities must promptly, thoroughly and effectively investigate the abduction and suspected enforced disappearance of Sombath Somphone, Amnesty International said today. On 15 December 2012, Sombath Somphone, a leading member of Lao civil society, was stopped by traffic police and taken away…
The Laos authorities must establish an independent commission to uncover the truth about the fate of civil society activist Sombath Somphone, Amnesty International said on the third anniversary of his disappearance. In an open letter to the Lao Prime Minister Thongsing Thammavong, 49 Directors of Amnesty International national offices around the world are highlighting the…
The Lao government must act now to ensure the safe return of civil society leader Sombath Somphone, who is most likely a victim of an enforced disappearance at the hands of the authorities, Amnesty International said in a new briefing issued today. The briefing, Caught on Camera, examines in detail the case of Sombath, who…
The international community must demand the immediate release of three Lao student activists who have been imprisoned since 1999 for peacefully protesting, Amnesty International said as European and Asian heads of state gather in Laos for the 9th Asia-Europe Meeting Summit (ASEM 9). On 26 October 1999, police in Laos’ capital Vientiane arrested Thongpaseuth Keuakoun,…