Ms Lodkham Thammavong, Mr Somphone Phimmasone and Mr Soukan Chaithad are activists from Laos who participated in a protest against the government outside the Lao Embassy in Thailand, where they worked, in December, 2015. They also posted critical messages on social media, alleging government corruption, deforestation, and human rights violations. They were arrested in March 2016 after returning to Laos to reapply for official documents before planning a return to Thailand. Lodkham Thammavong and Somphone Phimmasone were arrested at their home in on 5 March 2016. Soukan Chaithad was arrested on 22 March 2016, reportedly at the Ministry of Public Security office in Savannaket City, western Laos, where he had gone to renew his passport. The arrests and detention may have amounted to enforced disappearance, as the fate and whereabouts of the three were concealed for over two months after their arrest, until their appearance on state television. On 22 March 2017, they were sentenced to 12, 20 and 16 years in prison respectively.