US Citizens Were ‘Disseminating Religion’ in Laos Without Approval: Police

[TomSea]

US Citizens Were ‘Disseminating Religion’ in Laos Without Approval: Police
2019-04-16

Luang Namtha province in northern Laos.

Three U.S. citizens held in Laos since last week for “disseminating religion” without government approval had their passports seized and are being kept in a guesthouse in the provincial capital of Luang Namtha, RFA’s Lao Service learned from a local police officer on Tuesday.

Identified by their organization, Vision Beyond Borders, only by their given names, Wayne, Autumn and Joseph were picked up by police in the Sing district of Luang Namtha province on April 8, after handing out religious materials to villagers, a district policeman and a witness told RFA.

“They didn’t get approval from the relevant departments. Their activity of disseminating religion was wrong,” the Sing district policeman said.

“Usually this kind of activity must go through many steps to get approval. You can’t do whatever you want,” said the officer.

Read more at: https://www.rfa.org/english/news/laos/christians-detained-04162019180934.html