The detention of Ms. Lodkham Thammavong, Mr. Somphone Phimmasone, and Mr. Soukan Chaithad was declared arbitrary by the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention (WGAD) on August 25, 2017. FIDH and its member organisation, the Lao Movement for Human Rights (LMHR) actively worked for their release and submitted the case to UNGWAD in March 2017. The three peaceful government critics have been incarcerated since early 2016 as a result of their repeated criticism of the Lao government while working in Thailand. Following a secret trial in April 2017, Ms. Lodkham Thammavong, Mr. Somphone Phimmasone, and Mr. Soukan Chaithad were respectively sentenced to 12, 20 and 16 years ’detention.
FIDH and LMHR echo UNWAGD’s call for their immediate and unconditional release, reparation for their detention, and a full and independent investigation by the Lao government regarding their detention, including taking appropriate measures against those responsible for the violation of their rights.
Read the full press release here