St. Paul families fear for 3 Hmong men held in Laos
Three Hmong men from Minnesota were last heard from on Aug. 25.

By Maria Elena Baca and Tom Ford, Star Tribune

Last update: September 03, 2007 - 11:37 PM

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Nine days after three Hmong men from St. Paul were taken into custody
in Laos by security forces, their families said Monday that they are
desperate for information.
The men, Hakit Yang, 29, Cong Shi Neng Yang, 31, and Trillion
Yunhaison, 41, haven't been heard from since Aug. 25. They were
sightseeing and looking into opportunities to open a business, said
Hakit Yang's wife, Sheng Xiong.

Philip Smith, the Washington director of Lao Veterans of America, said
he has heard from sources in Laos that the men's captors accused them
of supporting Gen. Vang Pao, a prominent leader of the U.S. Hmong
community who was recently indicted by federal authorities on charges
of plotting to overthrow the Laotian government.

Based on conversations with the men's family members and with Pao
supporters, Smith said that the men appear to have no ties to Pao and
that the accusations are baseless.

Smith said he was told the men were arrested Aug. 25 by Laotian
military and security forces in Xieng Khouang, a province north of the
Laotian capital.

Xiong said she has been unable to learn whether her husband is even
alive, and is frustrated by the lack of cooperation from the Lao
government.

"We just want to know they are safe and are not being mistreated," she
said.

4 years ago, another arrest

In 2003, the Rev. Naw-Karl Mua of St. Paul was arrested in Laos and
faced 15 years in prison, but was freed.

Members of Laos' Hmong minority say they face persecution in Laos
because they served in a CIA-backed guerrilla army led by Pao that
fought Lao communists in the 1960s and 1970s.

Xiong, who said she was related to all three of the men, said she was
sure none of them was involved in Lao politics. She said they were
thinking of opening a motel or guesthouse or possibly a farming
venture there.

All three men, who are U.S. citizens, had visited Laos earlier in the
year and were treated well, she said.

Cong Shi Neng Yang is a single father to an 8-year-old daughter and 5-
year-old son. His mother, Sao Xiong, said Monday that she did not want
him to go to Laos.

"She is begging and pleading for help from anyone out there that can
locate where they are," Sheng Xiong said, translating for Sao Xiong.

Yunhaison's wife, Neng Lee, said the couple have six children, ranging
in age from 9 to 22. "I'm really worried about him. I don't know what
to do," she said Monday.

Reports from Laos

Smith said that his sources in Laos have told him the men were first
taken to Ponthong prison, which is in the capital city of Vientiane
and which he called "notorious" for mistreatment of prisoners. He said
he has heard that the men have been kept in solitary confinement,
interrogated, beaten and not allowed any visitors. Still, he is unsure
what if any charges the men might be facing.

On Aug. 30, they were seen being taken out of the prison, hooded and
shackled, and then thrown into a military truck with several others,
Smith said. It is unknown where the men went from there, though they
may have been transported to another prison or detention camp, he
said.

He guesses that because the men are U.S. citizens and likely would
benefit from pressure the American government would place on Laos to
offer fair treatment, they might go through a trial and eventually be
released, probably after being forced to pay a fine or signing some
confession.

"Hopefully enough attention will be brought to [the case] that the Lao
government will treat these Hmong-Americans with care and caution," he
said.

The arrests have parallels to the case of the Rev. Mua, Smith said.

Mua had gone to Laos in May 2003 to work as an interpreter for two
European journalists who were reporting on the Hmong resistance
movement in the country. The three encountered Laotian soldiers and
one soldier was killed. Mua was charged in connection to the soldier's
death and sentenced to 15 years in prison. But after spending more
than a month in prison, he was released and returned to Minnesota. As
part of his release, Mua -- who maintained his innocence -- had to pay
$2,500 to the family of the dead soldier.

Sheng Xiong said the couple's children, Ulond, 8, and Journie, 5, have
been asking about their father's absence. "My daughter has been
asking, 'Why isn't Daddy calling or why don't we call Daddy?' It just
breaks my heart really bad.

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