Concern for health of Lao prisoners

The human rights group, Amnesty International, has expressed concern for the health of three of the handful of known political prisoners being detained in Laos.

Amnesty International said the three Thongsouk Saysangkhi, Latsami Khamphoui, and Feng Sakchittaphong suffered from various illnesses including kidney and intestinal problems and were being subjected to extremely harsh treatment in a remote prison camp.

The three men are former government officials who were each sentenced to fourteen years imprisonment in 1992 after calling for political reform in the communist state.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service