[Tlc] L-Hmong Revolutionaries in Court

[justinm at ucr.edu]

Dear All,

based on the large number of e-mails I receive, I know many
people are interested in the case of the hmong revolutionaries
who were arrested in California for "plotting" to overthrow
the Lao government. See a article regarding the case below.

Best,
justin

2007-0725 - Sacramento Bee - Status conference delayed in Laos
plot case

http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/291149.html

sacbee.com - The online division of The Sacramento Bee

This story is taken from Sacbee / News.

Status conference delayed in Laos plot case

By Denny Walsh - Bee Staff Writer
Published 10:02 am PDT Wednesday, July 25, 2007

The status conference scheduled Wednesday in he case charging
11 men with plotting the violent overthrow of communist Laos
has been postponed to Oct. 24.

Defense lawyers and prosecutors agreed to the postponement to
give the defense team time to review a massive amount of
material turned over to them by the government.

A document submitted to U. S. District Judge Frank C. Damrell
Jr. asking for the delay says defense counsel have received
approximately 35,000 pages of material from the prosecutors,
as well as 40 audio files of taped meetings and telephone
calls involving the defendants and an undercover federal
firearms agent posing as an arms dealer.

"Some of the audio files contain conversations in a foreign
language, believed to be Hmong," the document says.

Ten of the defendants are Hmong and the other defendant is a
retired Army lieutenant colonel from Woodland.

The filed document says it is anticipated that more material
will be turned over to the defense, including videotapes and
more audio files.

All the defendants are free on bail but under
electronically-monitored house arrest at their own homes or
homes of family members.

A crowd of approximately 250 Hmong demonstrators gathered
Wednesday morning in front of Sacramento's federal courthouse
to protest what they feel was the unfair entrapment of the
defendants by the undercover agent.

The Sacramento Bee, 2100 Q St., P.O. Box 15779, Sacramento, CA
95852
Phone: (916) 321-1000

______________
Dr. Justin McDaniel
Dept. of Religious Studies
2617 Humanities Building
University of California, Riverside
Riverside, CA 92521
951-827-4530
justinm at ucr.edu