Lao Activist Anousa Luangsuphom Shot And Killed While Sitting At Coffee Shop

In a late-night shooting in the capital, a prominent critic of the Laotian administration was killed.

Anousa 'Jack' Luangsuphom, 25, was sitting at a coffee shop on Saturday when he was shot dead in the face and chest.

He had overseen the Facebook page Kub Kluen Duay Keyboard (Driven By Keyboard), where people dared to criticize the Communist leadership.

Authorities have come under fire from rights groups for not yet declaring a probe into the heinous "cold-blooded killing."

The assault was filmed on security cameras. A gunman wearing a black cap and a brown long-sleeved shirt enters the cafe and fires twice at Luangsuphom, who is seated on the floor, before running away, according to video.

He died on the way to the hospital.

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the young activist was "one of the few people in Laos who regularly and openly expressed views that were critical of the government."

Elaine Pearson, the organization's Asia director, said that "(this) sends a spine-chilling message that no one in Laos who criticises the government is safe."

The Lao government's "apparent apathy" toward pursuing justice for the activist's murder was also denounced by HRW.

Critiques have not yet received a response from the government. The killing of Luangsuphom has been covered by local media, BBC reported.

According to HRW, attacks against political activists, human rights advocates, and government critics have frequently gone unanswered by the Lao government.

It mentioned the "enforced disappearance" of activist Sombath Somphone, whose whereabouts are still a mystery more than ten years after he was arrested in Vientiane.

The issue of Od Sayavong, a Lao activist residing in Bangkok who has been missing since August 2019, was also brought up by HRW.

Government representatives have denied knowing anything about the two disappearances.

In Communist-run Laos, one of Asia's poorest nations, there is limited space for political opposition or dissident voices.

According to the US political advocacy group Freedom House, the Lao People's Revolutionary Party controls this landlocked nation between Thailand and China. It is a one-party state where "authorities use legal restrictions and intimidation tactics against state critics."