North Korea
American journalists to stand trialPosted Apr 16 2009
Two U.S. journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee will be indicated and tried on charges of perpetrating “hostile acts” against the Communist state, according to The New York Times.
They were taken into custody March 17 on the Chinese-North Korean border while reporting on the living condition of North Korean refugees in China and, more specifically, on the trafficking of women. They have been detained in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea.
According to the Reporters Without Borders, the two journalists, their cameraman, Mitch Koss, and a Chinese guide were on duty for the San Francisco-based Current TV network and website. The South Korean news agency Yonhap said the journalists were detained after they refused to stop filming.
Koss was allowed to leave China after Chinese authorities held him for several days. He managed to escape from the North Korean border guards at the time of Ling and Lee’s arrest, but their guide, a North Korea-born Chinese citizen, is still being held by the Chinese police.
Fred Lash, a U.S. State Department spokesman, said the U.S. government has seen the report and was working diplomatically to “achieve a favorable outcome,” Reuters reported.
More information
- International Freedom of Expression Exchange
- The New York Times