By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Candlelight vigils are being held across US Wednesday for two Asian American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who were arrested March 17 near the North Korean border while reporting on refugees living in China.
The two women, who work for San Francisco-based Current TV – a media venture founded by former vice president Al Gore, have been accused by North Korea of crossing into the country illegally from China and committing hostile acts.
The organisers of the vigils hope to help influence a positive outcome for the two journalists scheduled to be tried on criminal charges June 4.
The vigils are planned in Washington, New York, Chicago, Birmingham, Alabama, Portland, Orlando, San Francisco and Santa Monica.
Lee’s husband, Michael Saldate, told reporters this week that their four-year-old daughter “still thinks mommy is at work”. And Laura’s sister, Lisa, explained that she and her family are “terrified”.
“We don’t really know what to expect with this trial,” Lisa Ling, also a television journalist, said on the Today show during an interview with the families. “The situation is so sensitive.”