#JusticeForJoseph ✊🏽 Joseph Akaravong Was Attacked While Reuniting with a Lao Woman Activist Recently Released from Prison

⚠️ Clarifying the Context: Joseph Was With a Lao Woman Activist at the Time of the Knife Attack

On 14 June 2025, the day of the attempted murder, Joseph Akaravong met in Pau, France, with a fellow Lao activist and woman human rights defender (WHRD) who had recently traveled to France.

The Lao Woman Activist is internationally recognized for her courage. She was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison in Laos for peacefully criticizing the government on Facebook. She completed her sentence and was released in September 2024.

This was the first time Joseph and the Lao Woman Activist were reunited since her release. They were walking together on Boulevard des Pyrénées, in Pau, France when Joseph was brutally stabbed.

As a feminist, decolonial, and intersectional human rights organization led by international human rights lawyers, Manushya Foundation is committed to transparency, care, and collective safety. In moments of crisis, we believe it is our responsibility to provide relevant context to help the public understand the broader risks faced by activists and human rights defenders.

🛑 We share this information not to cast doubt on any individual, but to uphold our principles of honesty and protection.

👉🏽 This moment calls for empathy, and for our collective focus to remain on the wider system of transnational repression that continues to endanger Lao dissidents, whether at home or in exile.

#StopTransnationalRepression ❌ The attack on Joseph is part of a dangerous and escalating pattern, in which authoritarian regimes continue to monitor, pressure, and even harm activists across borders, sometimes using fear or coercion to reach even those who have already suffered behind bars.

We stand in solidarity with Joseph and all Lao activists, and we reaffirm our demand for justice, accountability, and protection for all those who dare to speak truth to power.

✊🏽 #WeAreManushyan ♾️ Equal Human Beings

#ProtectHRDs #LaoActivists #FeministSolidarity #Manushya #JosephAkaravong