kam
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posted
I watched Larry king last night and he had Lisa Ling on and other family members talking about her sister and another person.
They were doing a story on trafficking of young girls at the border.
They thought they were on the right side of the border line but they are assuming they were imprisoned due to being on the wrong side of the border.
They have been in jail for 3 months now and the sentencing is on June 4th.
I haven't looked into it but Lisa said there is a grassroots thing going on through Face book.
Her hope was that this would open doors a bit between N Korea and the US as far as humanitarian communications.
She was very cautious of what she said as it is a sensitive issue.
It is unbelievable to me that they were imprisoned and for so long for this.
Lisa said that the boundary is hard to tell in that area as there was a frozen stream and it is on one side of the stream in some areas and the other side in other areas.
HOpefully, the girls will be released after the sentencing on June 5th and are they are back to the US this weekend.
The woman who was arrested with her was on her first assignment with Al Gores' company.
Sorry, I can not recall the name of his company that they were reporting for.
This person was an editor with the company before this assignment.
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kam
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posted
The other interesting thing about this is that the ambassador for Sweden? is the one who has been able to visit the girls in prison once or twice and get letters from the girls to the families.
I think they have received one letter to the husbands and one letter to the mother.
And Lisa received a 4 min telephone call from her sister last Tuesday asking that they do go public with this as they were very scared of the outcome on Friday.
I am sure the Ling family would have liked to go public with this much earlier but were hoping that the girls would have been released by now.
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The U.S. East Coast is GMT-4 during daylight savings time (summer). So, now, four hours would be added to the GMT time.
If I have figured this correctly, 6 am GMT will be 10:00 a.m. (the same day) in New York. However, I am not at all sure I have figured this correctly. Something seems off.
Page last updated at 09:33 GMT, Thursday, 4 June 2009 10:33 UK
North Korea tries US journalists
Euna Lee, a Korean-American, and Laura Ling, a Chinese-American, were arrested on 17 March after allegedly crossing into North Korea from China.
. . .
North Korea said the trial would begin at 0600 GMT and the Russian news agency Itar-Tass reports that the hearing has now begun, although there has been no confirmation from Pyongyang.
. . .
If the women are found guilty, analysts say they face at least five years detention with hard labour in a North Korean prison camp.
. . . .
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[ 06-04-2009, 04:43 PM: Message edited by: Keebler ]
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Keebler
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posted
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I've been looking but have seen nothing new on this in days. Probably, there is a gag order until the trial is over.
kam
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posted
Last I heard the Swedish (?) ambassador was asking to attend the sentencing.
If he was, he most likely would have relayed the news.
This is not looking good.
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kam
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posted
Just caught a short blurb on CNN reporters. Looks like no one knows and the sentencing did not take place.
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Keebler
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posted
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Very sad news.
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Page last updated at 05:47 GMT, Monday, 8 June 2009 06:47 UK
A court in North Korea has sentenced two US journalists to 12 years' hard labour, state media say.
Euna Lee and Laura Ling were found guilty of "hostile acts" and illegal entry into the communist state. They were arrested in March after allegedly crossing into North Korea from China.
The US said it was "deeply concerned" by the sentence and called for the release of the two women on humanitarian grounds. The trial comes amid growing tensions over North Korea's nuclear programme.
"The trial confirmed the grave crime they [the reporters] committed against the Korean nation and their illegal border crossing as they had already been indicted and sentenced each of them to 12 years of reform through labour," state-run KCNA news agency said in a brief report.
The news agency gave no further details. Outside observers were not allowed to witness the hearing at Pyongyang's court.
The verdict means that the journalists face the prospect of spending years in one of the North's prison camps, where conditions are reported to be extremely harsh, the BBC's Chris Hogg in Seoul says.
'Bargaining chips'
In a statement, the US State Department said: "We are deeply concerned by the reported sentencing of the two American citizen journalists by North Korean authorities, and we are engaged through all possible channels to secure their release."
Euna Lee and Laura Ling were arrested by North Korean guards on 17 March while working on the China-North Korea border on a story about refugees for California-based internet broadcaster Current TV.
Some reports have suggested that the women were held while on Chinese soil, but Pyongyang's state media say they had illegally entered North Korea.
The pair have been held in detention since their arrest. There are fears they will now be used as "bargaining chips" by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in his efforts to win concessions from Washington, our correspondent says.
The women's families have appealed for clemency and asked Pyongyang and Washington not to link the case to the current diplomatic stand-off between them.
kam
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posted
Wow. Unbelievable. 12 years in prison for standing on the wrong side of the border...as far as we know.
From what I heard on the larry king show, nothing could be done until they were sentenced.
Now, someone can go over and represent them and get them out.
Only one other American has been put in prison in N. Korea and it was for a much worse crime.
They were able to get this person out. Wonder how long it took??
The person speaking on the Larry King Show was the person who was actually able to get him out.
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ping
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quote:Originally posted by kam: I watched Larry king last night and he had Lisa Ling on and other family members talking about her sister and another person.
They were doing a story on trafficking of young girls at the border.
They thought they were on the right side of the border line but they are assuming they were imprisoned due to being on the wrong side of the border.
kam,
The day after the interview you refer to above, Larry King had Franklin Graham on his program and asked him about the Ling/Lee case. Graham & Samaritan's Purse workers have been to NK numerous times, by invitation from NK to assist in relief efforts.
Granted, I don't like NK either, but Graham seems to be the only one telling the truth about this whole incident, and I quote, "They sneaked across the border into NK and got caught". He also said something to the effect that you can not accidentally stumble across the border into NK.
I hate to see these 2 women imprisoned, but they knew where they were and that they were uninvited and did it anyway. Period. End of story.
ping "We are more than containers for Lyme"
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kam
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Hopefully, the next news we hear is that they are being released and soon.
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ping
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posted
Any more news on this in the past 2 weeks? I've been out of touch more than the usual Lyme norm.
ping "We are more than containers for Lyme"
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kam
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posted
I tried to do a search on the internet to see if I missed anything and did not come up with any new reports.
I do recall..don't always trust my recall..but it seemed that the North Korean powers had Laura contact her sister and have a public statement said apologizing for whatever it is the North Korean government thinks they did.
I assume negotiations are still going on.
I also tried to figure out how long they have been in the North Korea prison system and if they are in hard labor camps or in a holding area.
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kam
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Clinton landed in the North Korean capital earlier in the day on a mission to secure the release of jailed American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee.
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glm1111
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posted
Great News, Thanks for posting Kam,
Gael
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kam
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Mission Accomplished. They arrived this morning.
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kam
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posted
In a tearful welcome home, American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling were greeted by their families as they arrived back in the United States this morning after 148 days of imprisonment in North Korea
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ping
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Lucky, lucky, lucky! These women were very lucky...
ping "We are more than containers for Lyme"
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posted
I am glad for them and their families. Their story could have ended so tragically. Thanks Bill Clinton!
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LisaS
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I cried so hard when I saw they got release, Thank God!
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