SE Asia Globe: 15 December 2016
On 15 December 2012, Laos activist Sombath Somphone was abducted in Vientiane. Four years later, his family and human rights groups are still searching for answers.
![sombath-magsaysay-04](https://i0.wp.com/www.sombath.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Sombath-Magsaysay-04.jpg?resize=525%2C275)
Today marks four years since the forced disappearance of Sombath Somphone, an internationally recognised Laos civil society leader who spent three decades advocating for the environment, civic engagement and democracy in his home country.
Sombath was forcibly disappeared after being stopped at a police checkpoint in Vientiane. Police closed-circuit television shows officers stopping Sombath’s jeep and bringing him into the checkpoint. Within minutes, Sombath reappears and is taken away in another vehicle. His jeep is later driven away by another individual. Last December, Sombath’s family released new footage showing the vehicle being driven to the centre of Vientiane.
There has been no government investigation into Sombath’s disappearance and Laos authorities have not held a briefing on the status of his case since June 2013. Continue reading “Four years since Laos activist Sombath Somphone’s ‘disappearance’”