"The Insider" has obtained a statement from the families of journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee in response to the news that the two journalists were sentenced to 12 years hard labor for illegal entry into North Korea. "The families of Laura Ling and Euna Lee are shocked and devastated by the outcome their trial," the families said in a statement to "The Insider." "Laura and Euna are journalists who went to the China-North Korea border to do a job. We don't know what really happened on March 17, but if they wandered across the border without permission, we apologize on their behalf and we are certain that they have also apologized." "We believe that the three months they have already spent under arrest with little communication with their families is long enough," they go on to say. "We ask the Government of North Korea to show compassion and grant Laura and Euna clemency and allow them to return home to their families." The two families tell us they are "very concerned about their mental state and well being," adding that they fear that Ling, who suffers from a stomach ulcer, may have her condition "be exacerbated by the drastic sentence." The families also reveal that Lee's 4-year-old daughter has been showing "anguish over the absence of her mother." The Central Court, the highest court of North Korea, held a trial for the two women from Thursday to Monday and convicted them of "committing hostilities against the Korean nation and illegal entry," the New York Times reports.

[Read full story on The Insider]

User(s) Comments:

No Post yet!