On March 17, 2009, the International Women’s Media Foundation and Reporters Without Borders jointly launched a petition for the immediate and unconditional release of Current TV reporters Laura Ling (sister of Lisa Ling) and Euna Lee, who have now been held in North Korea for over a week. The two organizations stated that, “Laura Ling and Euna Lee were taken into custody on the Chinese-North Korean border while reporting on the fate of North Korean refugees, and, more specifically, on the practice of trafficking in women. Pyongyang authorities have no reason to hold them or to accuse them of illegal activities. They should be freed at once.” You can sign the petition online here and here

If not released soon, the two reporters will be indicted and tried on charges of perpetrating “hostile acts” against the Communist state of North Korea, a crime punishable by years in a labor camp. To make matters worse, North Korea launched rockets over the weekend. The pair of reporters could be embroiled in the delicate international politics surrounding the North Korea’s rocket launch.

Here’s more coverage of Laura Ling and Euna Lee by the New York Times here.

Rachel Maddow talks about North Korea’s detention of Laura Ling and Euna Lee