Seven Christian men who were detained by security forces in southern Laos for holding an “illegal” church service are free, a day after BosNewsLife news agency published about their plight.
A government official in the Phin district of the southern province of Savannakhet confirmed to Radio Free Asia that they were all released Wednesday, 2nd January.
“Yes, they were arrested, but today they’ve all gone home,” the official was quoted as saying by RFA, a US-funded broadcaster which closely follows the region.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, declined to discuss details of the arrests or comment further on the case. Activists said the group included three church leaders identified as Akeo, Kert, and Somwang, while the other Christian men were named Boulai, Champee, Agàe, and Ayoung.
It was not immediately apparent if authorities had dropped the charges or whether they would still face trial.
The seven Lao Christians were taken into custody on 29th December when police raided a church gathering in Phin district’s Nakanong village, well-informed rights activists confirmed to BosNewsLife earlier. Authorities also demolished the church stage, cut off the power line, destroyed the sound system, and seized three mobile phones, said the well-informed group Human Rights Watcher for Lao Religious Freedom.
The raid was the latest in a series of incidents faced by minority Christians in the Communist-run Asian nation. Though Christian services are allowed in some parts of Laos under strict government control, Christians living in remote areas of the country are frequently facing harassment or expulsion from their homes by local officials.
