Not a lot of News from Laos but when it comes>>

International media and human rights groups have expressed shock and dismay at the 15-year jail sentences given to two European journalists and an American pastor by a court in Laos.

The trial, which according to Amnesty International inexplicably took place in a remote northern region and lasted little over two hours, has been described as a travesty of justice.

Paris-based"Reporters without Borders" (RSF) went further, saying the trial was a farce and that Laos should be threatened with tough sanctions as a result.

"It is a country that lives off international aid - we must make it understand that it could pay dearly for behaving like a rogue nation," .

Swift justice?

Our correspondent says that in the past, opponents of the country's strict communist regime have disappeared after being arrested.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/3033482.stm

Seems pretty swift and harsh, to say the least. The article mentioned a weapon and an explosive device. I don't know what the explosive device was, a grenade?, but considering the subject they were covering I'm sure the weapon was for their own protection. I'm sure they consider it part of the global war on terrorism, as that seems to be the catch phrase, that will cover almost anything. Hopefully diplomacy can straighten out the travesty of justice.

:cool:

See British Embassy Bangkok website link on Travel to Laos.