North Korea

Current TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were arrested by North Korean police on March 17 for allegedly entering the country illegally and carrying out "hostile acts." In June, they were sentenced to 12 years' hard labor. Now back in the U.S. after receiving a pardon, the two are telling their story on Current.com, describing what happened that night on the border between China and North Korea:

Roxana Saberi, who was imprisoned in Iran for nearly four months, published a statement on her personal Web site to Euna Lee and Laura Ling after their release from North Korea on Tuesday. Saberi had previously expressed her support for the two imprisoned journalists in an interview with CPJ on June 9.

New York, August 4, 2009--The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes media reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has pardoned and ordered the release of imprisoned journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee after former U.S. President Bill Clinton arrived in Pyongyang today.

New York, July 16, 2009--North Korea should grant amnesty to U.S. journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who have now been jailed four months following their arrest on the North Korean-Chinese border, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Last night, about 300 people gathered at San Francisco's Academy of Art University for a vigil for U.S. television journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling. Today marks the 100th day of captivity in North Korea for the women, who were arrested in March by North Korean guards while filming a story about refugees for the California-based broadcaster Current TV. Earlier this month, the two reporters were sentenced by North Korea's highest court to 12 years hard labor after a closed-door trial. 

New York, June 17, 2009--The Committee to Protect Journalists calls on North Korean authorities to demonstrate greater transparency in their treatment of imprisoned U.S. television reporters Euna Lee and Laura Ling. 

Responding to a Korea Central News Agency report that Euna Lee and Laura Ling have admitted crossing illegally into North Korea and trying to slander the state, we released the following statement today...

Roxana Saberi, who was imprisoned in Iran for nearly four months, offers her thoughts on the detentions of U.S. journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee in North Korea. In this interview with CPJ, Saberi, left, said she was "amazed and very moved at the support I received" while in prison. "You are not alone," she advised her jailed colleagues. Here is the interview:

Journalist Roxana Saberi, recently detained in Iran, asked us to release this statement on her behalf in response to the convictions of Laura Ling and Euna Lee in North Korea: "As a fellow journalist, I am shocked and saddened to hear about the heavy sentence handed to Laura Ling and Euna Lee. I hope that a way can be found to reunite them with their families as soon as possible and I will continue to pray for their swift release."