A group of MPs from Asean nations has blasted Laos over the disappearance of development worker Sombath Somphone
After returning from Laos to report on the government’s investigation into the disappearance of development worker Sombath Somphone, a group of MPs from Asean countries representing a collective known as Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) has released a blistering statement condemning the lack of effort in investigating the incident.
“The Lao authorities have erected a brick wall of silence on this investigation, so much so that the only intelligent conclusion is that there is in fact no investigation taking place at all and that the obstinacy is part of a cover up for state officials implicated in his abduction,” said Charles Santiago, a Malaysian MP and Vice-President (APHR) in a press release.
“The script that the Lao authorities are reading from has become progressively tighter over the past 18 months: there appears to be a concerted effort to undermine now even the most fundamental, seemingly incontestable aspects of the investigation,” he continued.
The full statement can be read here
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“The disappeared” – The whereabouts of renowned Lao development worker Sombath Somphone remain unknown and the case has become a cause célèbre. Southeast Asia Globe spoke to his wife, Shui Meng, about the man behind the media attention
