In 2002, it was reported that the normal function of a defence lawyer in a Laotian court was to argue mitigating circumstances and the extent of the defendant's co-operation before asking for clemency.
As at the prisons, inmates worked hard under rugged conditions and had limited supplies of food.
[2] Former inmates said that they were arrested, informed by the security officials that they had been charged with crimes, and then sent off to camps for indeterminate periods.
[2] Several hundred detainees, including many high-ranking officials and officers from the former United States-backed RLG and Royal Lao Army, were released from reeducation centers in the northeastern province of Houaphan.
[2] Released prisoners reported that hundreds of individuals remained in custody in as many as eight camps, including at least six generals and former high-ranking members of the RLG.
[2] These individuals reportedly performed manual labor such as log cutting, repairing roads, and building irrigation systems.