A Minnesota Hmong pastor and two European journalists were sentenced today in Laos to 15 years in prison.

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June 30, 2003
Listen: A Minnesota Hmong pastor and two European journalists were sentenced today in Laos to 15 years in prison.
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A Minnesota pastor and two European journalists were sentenced today in Laos to 15 years in prison. The three men were charged in connection with the killing of a village security official in the Southeast Asian country. Naw-Karl Mua is the pastor of the Light of Life Lutheran Church in St. Paul. He was arrested in Laos on June fourth. Press freedom groups argue that he and the journalists were not involved in the guard's murder and say the men are being punished for reporting on Hmong rebels. Reverend Peter Rogness is bishop of the Saint Paul Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. He says he's appalled by the treatment of Mua. But he says, given the history of the Laotian government, he's not surprised by today's verdict.

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