Laura Ling and Euna Lee, both reporters of Current TV, are awaiting trial this week in North Korea. They were taken into custody and were charged with illegally entering the country back on March 17th. If convicted, they could face time in one of North Korea’s notorious labor camps.
Ling and Lee were originally on the border of China-North Korea reporting on the life of defectors from North Korea. At this point, it is not clear as to how they were captured and taken into custody.
In light of recent actions by North Korea with missile testings in defiance of the UN, many speculate that this case will be deeply connected with nuclear weapons negotiations.
Lisa Ling, the well-known journalist and sister of Laura, stated recently in a message sent to a Facebook group following this story (which I happen to be a part of), “Our families have been very quiet because of the extreme sensitivity of the situation, but given the fact that our girls are in the midst of a global nuclear standoff, we cannot wait any longer…”
The family members have chosen to become more vocal about the case due to the trial coming up later this week. Please take a moment to watch the interview below from the Today Show earlier this morning:
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If you want to support the efforts of those seeking the release of Ling and Lee, here are some suggestions:
- Sign a petition to the government of North Korea for the release of these two journalists by clicking here.
- Join the Facebook group created to keep everyone up to date with opportunities for mobilization by clicking here.
- Visit the following blog dedicated to seeing their release: www.liberatelaura.wordpress.com
- Follow the story via Twitter Updates: www.twitter.com/liberatelaura
- For those of you from a faith perspective, please consider spending some intentional time praying for the release and safety of these two.
This post is tagged Euna Lee, Laura Ling, North Korea
5 Comments
So, did they enter the country with permission of the N.Korea Gov’t? We can only assume they were, because no one is stating otherwise.
Cased closed. I have no sympathy, but hopefully they will not be punished for being stupid.
Of course they didn’t enter with permission. Nevertheless, in hearing from personal friends of mine who have done work in that area, some portions of the border are not clearly marked.
Were there unwise choices made? Quite possibly.
In any case, the hope is that they will find favor and be released (regardless of intent). N. Korea’s labor camp is known for horrific conditions.
I struggle with how much we can do on this end, and wonder how much the gov’t of NK will really listen to our online petitions. Does it make a difference? – still raising awareness is perhaps the best we can do?
Totally agree Wayne… I think having people sign petitions primarily helps to get the word out about their situation. It may be more for people hearing about the petition than NK.
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