UNESCO hails release of two long-time Laotian political prisoners

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) today welcomed the release of two long-time Laotian political prisoners whose freedom the agency has sought for many years.

Latsami Khamphoui, a former Deputy Minister for the Economy and Planning and Feng Sakchittaphong, a former senior officer of the Justice Ministry, both behind bars since 1990, arrived with their families in France today and will be given medical care.

“A humanitarian campaign of several years is today crowned with success, which will give heart to all those who fight for freedom of expression and human dignity,” Paris-based UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura said. “The fate of these two men, both in an alarming state of health, was a source of deep concern to us.”