Laos: Christians Accused of Murder Found Not Guilty, But …
By Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent
SAVANNAKHET (Worthy News)– Five Christians in Laos who were exonerated after falsely being accused of murder still remain in custody, according to BarnabasAid.
After the Savannakhet Office of Prosecutors said in August that they did not commit any crime, the five are waiting for a district chief to release them.
The Christians were arrested during a dispute over the burial of an ailing woman convert to Christianity who died in June. But when the five were falsely accused of her murder, Buddhist leaders took advantage of the situation by conducting the convert's funeral against her family's wishes.
Laos has been a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights since 2009, but though the state officially recognizes Buddhism, Christianity, Islam and Baha'ism, it exercises control over all religious groups.
Converts have been particularly targeted as local authorities crack down on the spread of Christianity in southern Laos.