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ARTICLE 1347
Christians Still Held in Laos


Paul Davenport, Compass Direct (http://www.compassdirect.org), Mar 20, 1998. Country: Laos. Region: Southeast Asia. Used by permission of Compass Direct. All rights to this material are reserved. Materials are not to be distributed to other web locations for retrieval, published in other media, printed for distribution or mirrored at other sites without written permission from the copyright owner(s). For hardcopy reprints, please contact their website.
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Bible study; Church and state; Persecution; Religious freedom



HONG KONG (Compass)--The Lao government is still holding 13 Christians in Thatdam jail in Vientiane more than a month after police raided a Bible study group on January 30.

The 13 were among 44, including five foreigners, arrested. Families of the six Partners in Progress employees in jail have been strictly warned by the police to not contact or talk to outsiders, or the prisoners' sentences will be increased. The families are also under police surveillance. A spokesman for Partners in Progress said two of the 13 prisoners are being held in solitary confinement under harsh conditions.

On February 25 the Lao foreign ministry issued a statement saying the Bible study was held in breach of Article 66 of the criminal code of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, which specifies that "an individual who organizes or takes part in a meeting to create social turmoil will be sentenced to one- to five-years' imprisonment."

The ministry said the meeting was also detrimental to Article 9 of the constitution, which specifies a ban on all acts of religious discrimination and on "all acts to cleave a wedge among people." The foreign ministry added that the Christians made use of religious practice as a pretext for their propaganda activity and to slander Lao leaders.

Sources in Thailand say the last act of General Khamtay Siphandone as Prime Minster was to order a sweep up of all the religious groups that were meeting outside of the government approved church and government approved religions. The sources said there were several groups arrested, but only the police raid January 30 on the Phon Kheng Church of Christ -- and the subsequent arrest of three Americans, one Thai, and one French national -- attracted worldwide attention.

General Siphandone was promoted to president of Laos in February and is now the most powerful person in the country.


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