IPI Resolution on the Sentencing of US Journalists by North Korea
Meeting at its Annual General Assembly on 9 June 2009 in Helsinki, Finland, the IPI membership adopted a resolution condemning the sentencing of two American journalists to 12 years of hard labour for ‘hostilities’ against North Korea and ‘illegal entry.’
The journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee of US-based Current TV, were sentenced by North Korea’s highest court on 8 June 2009 following a secretive trial and without proper legal representation.
IPI has previously pointed out that the journalists, who were detained on 17 March 2009, are being used as political hostages in North Korea’s diplomatic struggles with the United States. The journalists were captured while apparently preparing a report on the exodus of North Koreans from one of the world’s most repressive nations.
The IPI membership calls on the North Korean government to immediately release the two American journalists.