Suspected abduction of Lao rights advocate remembered on 12-year anniversary of disappearance 

FILE - A pamphlet about Sombath Somphone sits on display at an event in Bangkok, Thailand, Dec. 15, 2022, marking the 10-year anniversary of his enforced disappearance in Laos. FILE - Shui Meng Ng, the wife of Sombath Somphone, speaks at an event in Bangkok, Thailand, Dec. 15, 2022, marking the 10-year anniversary of her husband’s enforced disappearance in Laos.

Rights groups and activists Monday continued to urge the government of Laos to provide answers about the suspected abduction of prominent rights advocate Sombath Somphone, who was last seen at a police checkpoint in the country’s capital 12 years ago.