Marking the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, Amnesty International has sent another plea to Lao President Choummaly Sayasone seeking justice for Sombath:
The Lao authorities have denied arresting Sombath Somphone and deny any responsibility for his enforced disappearance, saying that he may have been abducted as part of a private dispute after being stopped by police for a routine document check. Several statements issued by the police on the matter provide little information or detail.
There appears to have been a failure by your government to conduct a prompt, thorough, competent, and impartial investigation. In addition, other countries’ offers of external assistance, including analysis of the original CCTV footage, have been rejected.
…The case has been marked throughout by flawed investigations, a wilful refusal to adequately address key questions, inconsistencies and the rejection of international assistance – in short, by the Lao government’s failure to remedy a serious human rights violation and persistence in ignoring its international human rights obligations.
The full statement can be seen here.