Kerry and Kay Danes
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Kerry and Kay Danes are an Australian husband and wife who were arrested on December 23, 2000 in Laos, accused of the involvement in the theft of 130 kg of rough sapphires from a Vientiane mining company GML.
Kerry Danes was the general manager of a company that provided a security guard for GML's Vientiane office. Shortly after his detention, Kay Danes was arrested while allegedly trying to exit Laos via Thailand with over US$50,000 in cash in her possession.[1] A further US$98,000 was later frozen in local bank accounts.
The couple were held without charges being laid for some time.[2] The couple were tried and sentenced to seven years imprisonment for embezzlement and tax evasion, but after extensive political lobbying between the Australian and Laos governments, they were released on October 8, 2001, but not permitted to leave the country. They took up residence at the home of the Australian ambassador to Laos, Jonathan Thwaites until on November 6, 2001 when a pardon was issued[citation needed] with a condition of them paying US$463,885 and 700 baht for the stolen property to the plaintiff and US$66,847 for the tax debt. The Danes' promptly exited the country, but to date it is understood that the payments have not been made[1] despite high level protests from the Laos government.[3]
In May 2008 Kay Danes released a new book, not only about her own case, but highlighting the plight of others imprisoned in foreign jails:
- Danes, Kay (2008). Families Behind Bars: Stories of injustice, endurance and hope. Australia: New Holland Publishers. ISBN 978-1-741106-76-3..
In 2006 Kay Danes published an account of their ordeal:
- Danes, Kay (2006). Nightmare in Laos : the true story of a woman imprisoned in a Communist gulag. Ireland: Maverick House. ISBN 978-1-905379-08-8..
She had previously published a book in 2002:
- Danes, Kay (2002). Deliver us from evil : bad things do happen to good people. North Melbourne, Victoria: Crown Content. ISBN 1740950259.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b On Their Honour (Transcript). Australian Story. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (18 March 2002). Retrieved on 2007-11-09.
- ^ Parliamentary Debates, Australian House of Representatives, 4 April 2001, page 68
- ^ Permanent Mission of the Lao People's Democratic Republic to the United Nations (5 September 2002). "Released Australian Couple Slanders Government" (in English). Press release. Retrieved on 2007-11-09.
