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Australia, Laos to meet over jailed couple

Downer
Australian Foreign Minister Downer will appeal to Laos to show compassion  


HANOI, Vietnam -- The foreign ministers of Australia and Laos will meet Thursday to discuss the fate of an Australian couple jailed in Laos on gem theft charges.

Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer will ask Laotian counterpart Somsavat Lengsavad to free husband and wife Kerry and Kay Danes despite a Laotian court last month sentencing the pair to seven years' jail.

The couple maintain their innocence and are appealing the sentence, arguing that they have been caught up in a power play for the Laotian gem mining company for which they both worked.

Downer and Somsavat are both in Hanoi for an ASEAN regional summit.

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Downer told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation Wednesday that Australia would not threaten to downgrade its relationship with Laos but would appeal to the Lao government's sense of compassion.

"I can only say I hope the Lao government will understand the concern we have for the Danes and in particular for the three children who are left with their grandparents back in Brisbane (Australia)," Downer said.

Australia has already expended considerable diplomatic effort to secure the Danes' release, including sending a top-ranked diplomat to Laos to negotiate on their behalf. But the moves have proved ineffective.

The couple have been held in jail for seven months so far but were only last month charged, during a one-day trial, with embezzlement, tax evasion and destruction of evidence in relation to the theft of $3.5 million of sapphires.

"I find it very heart rending," Downer said.

"As a parent myself I can understand how the children feel with their parents being held in prison far away in Laos."

But Downer said threatening Laos would not help the Danes' situation.

"This isn't a time for us to react with extravagant language and extravagant threats," he said.

"But I very much hope that the Lao government will understand the importance that we attach to this issue and will agree with our request that at the conclusion of the legal process it will be possible for the Danes to be released," he said.

Somsavat said, when asked whether there was any chance that Laos would agree to Downer's request for the release of the couple: "I will discuss this personally with Mr Downer."

Reuters contributed to this report.







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