Evangelical group says Laos deports 3 American missionaries
Posted Apr 18, 2019 11:05:12 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
BANGKOK — A U.S.-based Christian evangelical organization says three of its American volunteers who were detained in Laos more than a week ago for proselytizing have been freed and deported.
The operations manager for Vision Beyond Borders, Eric Blievernicht, said in an email that the three crossed into Thailand on Thursday night.
The missionaries, identified by the Casper, Wyoming-based group only as Wayne, Autumn and Joseph, were detained by Laotian police on April 8 while visiting villages in the northwestern province of Luang Namtha to distribute Gospel tracts and other Christian material.
The website of U.S.-government funded Radio Free Asia, citing an unidentified district policeman, reported Tuesday that the three were detained for handing out religious materials without receiving official permission.
The Associated Press
