Houayheuang "Muay" Xayabouly was born on November 4,1988 and is a Laotian environmental and human rights activist.
10 Facts About Houayheuang Xayabouly
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Houayheuang Xayabouly is currently serving a 5 year prison sentence for criminal defamation and distributing anti-state propaganda.
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Houayheuang Xayabouly's case has been taken by journalists as characteristic for the repressive climate of Laos's regime.
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Houayheuang Xayabouly organised a concert protesting against this corruption, which took place on October 15,2018, in Savannakhet, but was shut down by police.
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Houayheuang Xayabouly then began posting about the harsh competition Laotian businesses faced from Chinese competitors.
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Houayheuang Xayabouly especially highlighted the selling of land to Chinese enterprises for the construction of banana plantations, which affected the large portion of the Laotian population that depends on agriculture.
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Houayheuang Xayabouly criticised the labour conditions on these plantations, where the contamination of land by chemicals, including Prochloraz, led to water becoming undrinkable and land inarable.
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Houayheuang Xayabouly criticised the slow government response and the failure to use the available aid money.
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Houayheuang Xayabouly was tried and found guilty on 22 November 2019.
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Houayheuang Xayabouly was sentenced to a money fine and five years in prison, for which she was moved to Champassak Provincial Prison.