Laos pro-democracy activist survives gun attack after initial reports of his death
- Anousa ‘Jack’ Luangsouphom, whose social media posts openly rebuked the government, was shot last week in the cheek and chest at a cafe in Vientiane
- While a Facebook page run by him confirmed his death, Human Rights Watch refuted it, saying it had ‘photographic evidence’ Jack was receiving treatment in a hospital
A young Laos pro-democracy activist who was shot by an unknown assailant in a cafe in the capital Vientiane has survived the attack, Human Rights watch said on Thursday, after multiple initial reports he had been killed in the shooting.
Anousa “Jack” Luangsouphom, an administrator of a Facebook page openly critical of the communist government, was shot on April 29 in the cheek and chest in a cafe, according to rights groups.
Videos of the apparent attack went viral on Laos social media and he was reported to have been killed in the shooting. The Facebook page he ran with other young activists later posted a confirmation of his death.
But on Thursday, Human Rights Watch issued a statement saying it had “verbal confirmation and photographic evidence” that Jack, 25, had survived the attack and “is now receiving medical treatment in a hospital in Vientiane”.
“Human Rights Watch emphasises the responsibility of the Lao government to ensure protection for Jack while he recovers and to undertake a thorough and impartial investigation into the shooting,” it added in the statement.
Laos is a one-party state where open criticism of the government is punished with detention and impunity often follows attacks on activists.