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Religion Today Feature
April 26, 2006
Unprecedented Call to Stop Execution in North Korea
Michael Ireland, ASSIST News Service
Motive Entertainment organizing outreach to equip educators, cultural
leaders, and faith leaders to address the issues raised by terrorist attack
NORTH KOREA (ANS) -- In an unprecedented move, family and activists have
called upon the international community to intervene to abort the execution
of a named North Korean man, Mr Son Jong Nam.
According to a media release, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has
joined with multiple agencies that protested today outside the government
complex in South Korea in calling for "efforts to rescue Son Jong Nam, who
has been sentenced to public execution."
The appeal comes after Mr Son's brother, Son Jong Hoon, received
information via a relative. He reported: "My brother is sentenced to public
execution and even family members cannot visit him."
CSW says this is the first time that an appeal has been issued to prevent
the known execution of a named individual in North Korea from taking place.
Five North Korean defector organizations working for human rights in North
Korea issued a joint statement on April 4 urging for intervention to stop
the planned execution. They have now broadened their activities to ask the
international community to intervene to raise the case.
The joint agency statement reports that Mr Son (48) is imprisoned in the
basement of the National Security Agency in Pyongyang and is "practically
dead from horrible torture."
CSW reports that Mr Son is accused of betraying his country and sharing
information with South Koreans.
"It is believed the charges are grounded in his visit to China where he met
with his brother and spoke about life in North Korea and, possibly, in his
connection to Christianity. He had also received financial assistance for
his survival from his brother," CSW states.
At a press conference reported by The Daily NK, his brother, Son Jong Hoon
(43), stated: "In China, I only talked to him about how my siblings were
doing and what North Koreans think of the Kim Jong Il regime. He shouldn't
be executed for the crime of betrayal or espionage. His execution needs to
be stopped."
CSW says Mr Son defected from North Korea in 1997 with his wife, son and
brother. He attended Church in China and became a Christian - a serious
crime in North Korea. While his brother was successful in reaching South
Korea in 2002, Son Jong Nam was repatriated in April 2001 and imprisoned
for three years in the Ham-Gyung-Buk area prison camp in North Korea.
He was released on parole in May 2004 after the intervention of influential
contacts. He was expelled to Chongjin where he worked at a rocket research
institute.
The CSW report continues: "In May 2004 Mr Son was able to meet his brother
in China and return to North Korea. However the individual in Musan who
helped him travel to China informed on him to the Musan National Security
Agency. The National Security Office in Musan asked their colleagues in
Pyongyang to arrest Mr Son and he was taken in by the secret police in
January 2006 as he was leaving his younger sister's house in Pyongyang.
Those close to him have been exiled from Pyongyang.
CSW adds: "Those closest to the situation, including Son Jong Hoon, are now
calling for the wider international community to raise its voice to appeal
for the life of Mr Son. The statement from the North Korean defector
organizations states: 'Organizations including Association of North Korean
Defectors, Democracy Network against North Korean Gulag, Free North Korean
Broadcasting and 8,000 North Koreans are asking to stop the public
execution of Son Jong Nam. ... Mr Son is currently facing critical danger.
By raising the consciousness of the international community, we may be able to save Mr Son.' "
CSW's International Advocate, Elizabeth Batha, who has gathered extensive
first hand testimony from numerous torture victims and eyewitnesses of
public execution, stated: "We are deeply concerned for the life and welfare
of Mr Son Jong Nam. North Korea practices brutal torture and it is hard to
imagine the pain and suffering that will already have been inflicted upon
him. We urge the international community to match the bravery and boldness
of those who have decided to take this unprecedented step of announcing
this to the outside world. We hope that those in a position of influence
will be unstinting in strongly urging the North Koreans to abort their
plans to carry out this unjust execution."
At the press conference, Son Jong Hoon responded to enquiries about the
date of the public execution, which had been suggested might be scheduled
for mid-April, saying: "The date for the execution is only announced for
murder and other common crimes. For political crimes and treason, the date
is usually not announced beforehand because it might have an undesirable
impact on the people. They carry out the execution on an arbitrary date."
However he said he had heard from a high level source from North Korea that
the execution would be carried out sometime in April.
CSW states it is not known whether the execution has happened. Obtaining
such information from inside North Korea is obviously a difficult and
dangerous business. Although there is uncertainty about the situation it is
hoped that the limited coverage of the case that occurred in South Korea
will have been effective in delaying final action by North Korea.
Mr Son Jong Nam was born in Sadong, Soryongdong, Pyongyang and served his
full military term as a non-commissioned officer at the Security Protection
Headquarters from October 1975 - May 1983. On 20th January 1998 Mr Son's
sister-in-law was investigated by the secret police while pregnant. During
the interrogation she was kicked in the stomach and she miscarried. Mr Son
brought the matter before the Central People's Committee, but he was put
under pressure for his actions and told to leave. This led to his
disillusionment with the regime and his decision to leave North Korea
followed shortly afterwards.
Background on North Korea's human rights record
North Korea's human rights record is ranked amongst the very worst in the
world, CSW says.
CSW continues: "It was the focus of a General Assembly resolution in
November, reflecting mounting international awareness and concern over the
seriousness of what is taking place behind closed doors in the country.
Egregious torture and public executions have been amongst the most serious
of these concerns. The first ever footage of North Korean executions was
shown last year at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and on BBC
and other channels. It showed a typical scene of a North Korean execution:
a very brief summary trial with no right of defense and almost immediate
pronouncement of the death sentence; the tying of the victims to poles and
the shooting of the victims by three gunshots from three marksmen."
(c) 2006 ASSIST News Service, used with permission
http://l.salemweb.net/vom0805m/
____________________________
Religion Today Feature
April 26, 2006
Unprecedented Call to Stop Execution in North Korea
Michael Ireland, ASSIST News Service
Motive Entertainment organizing outreach to equip educators, cultural
leaders, and faith leaders to address the issues raised by terrorist attack
NORTH KOREA (ANS) -- In an unprecedented move, family and activists have
called upon the international community to intervene to abort the execution
of a named North Korean man, Mr Son Jong Nam.
According to a media release, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) has
joined with multiple agencies that protested today outside the government
complex in South Korea in calling for "efforts to rescue Son Jong Nam, who
has been sentenced to public execution."
The appeal comes after Mr Son's brother, Son Jong Hoon, received
information via a relative. He reported: "My brother is sentenced to public
execution and even family members cannot visit him."
CSW says this is the first time that an appeal has been issued to prevent
the known execution of a named individual in North Korea from taking place.
Five North Korean defector organizations working for human rights in North
Korea issued a joint statement on April 4 urging for intervention to stop
the planned execution. They have now broadened their activities to ask the
international community to intervene to raise the case.
The joint agency statement reports that Mr Son (48) is imprisoned in the
basement of the National Security Agency in Pyongyang and is "practically
dead from horrible torture."
CSW reports that Mr Son is accused of betraying his country and sharing
information with South Koreans.
"It is believed the charges are grounded in his visit to China where he met
with his brother and spoke about life in North Korea and, possibly, in his
connection to Christianity. He had also received financial assistance for
his survival from his brother," CSW states.
At a press conference reported by The Daily NK, his brother, Son Jong Hoon
(43), stated: "In China, I only talked to him about how my siblings were
doing and what North Koreans think of the Kim Jong Il regime. He shouldn't
be executed for the crime of betrayal or espionage. His execution needs to
be stopped."
CSW says Mr Son defected from North Korea in 1997 with his wife, son and
brother. He attended Church in China and became a Christian - a serious
crime in North Korea. While his brother was successful in reaching South
Korea in 2002, Son Jong Nam was repatriated in April 2001 and imprisoned
for three years in the Ham-Gyung-Buk area prison camp in North Korea.
He was released on parole in May 2004 after the intervention of influential
contacts. He was expelled to Chongjin where he worked at a rocket research
institute.
The CSW report continues: "In May 2004 Mr Son was able to meet his brother
in China and return to North Korea. However the individual in Musan who
helped him travel to China informed on him to the Musan National Security
Agency. The National Security Office in Musan asked their colleagues in
Pyongyang to arrest Mr Son and he was taken in by the secret police in
January 2006 as he was leaving his younger sister's house in Pyongyang.
Those close to him have been exiled from Pyongyang.
CSW adds: "Those closest to the situation, including Son Jong Hoon, are now
calling for the wider international community to raise its voice to appeal
for the life of Mr Son. The statement from the North Korean defector
organizations states: 'Organizations including Association of North Korean
Defectors, Democracy Network against North Korean Gulag, Free North Korean
Broadcasting and 8,000 North Koreans are asking to stop the public
execution of Son Jong Nam. ... Mr Son is currently facing critical danger.
By raising the consciousness of the international community, we may be able to save Mr Son.' "
CSW's International Advocate, Elizabeth Batha, who has gathered extensive
first hand testimony from numerous torture victims and eyewitnesses of
public execution, stated: "We are deeply concerned for the life and welfare
of Mr Son Jong Nam. North Korea practices brutal torture and it is hard to
imagine the pain and suffering that will already have been inflicted upon
him. We urge the international community to match the bravery and boldness
of those who have decided to take this unprecedented step of announcing
this to the outside world. We hope that those in a position of influence
will be unstinting in strongly urging the North Koreans to abort their
plans to carry out this unjust execution."
At the press conference, Son Jong Hoon responded to enquiries about the
date of the public execution, which had been suggested might be scheduled
for mid-April, saying: "The date for the execution is only announced for
murder and other common crimes. For political crimes and treason, the date
is usually not announced beforehand because it might have an undesirable
impact on the people. They carry out the execution on an arbitrary date."
However he said he had heard from a high level source from North Korea that
the execution would be carried out sometime in April.
CSW states it is not known whether the execution has happened. Obtaining
such information from inside North Korea is obviously a difficult and
dangerous business. Although there is uncertainty about the situation it is
hoped that the limited coverage of the case that occurred in South Korea
will have been effective in delaying final action by North Korea.
Mr Son Jong Nam was born in Sadong, Soryongdong, Pyongyang and served his
full military term as a non-commissioned officer at the Security Protection
Headquarters from October 1975 - May 1983. On 20th January 1998 Mr Son's
sister-in-law was investigated by the secret police while pregnant. During
the interrogation she was kicked in the stomach and she miscarried. Mr Son
brought the matter before the Central People's Committee, but he was put
under pressure for his actions and told to leave. This led to his
disillusionment with the regime and his decision to leave North Korea
followed shortly afterwards.
Background on North Korea's human rights record
North Korea's human rights record is ranked amongst the very worst in the
world, CSW says.
CSW continues: "It was the focus of a General Assembly resolution in
November, reflecting mounting international awareness and concern over the
seriousness of what is taking place behind closed doors in the country.
Egregious torture and public executions have been amongst the most serious
of these concerns. The first ever footage of North Korean executions was
shown last year at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and on BBC
and other channels. It showed a typical scene of a North Korean execution:
a very brief summary trial with no right of defense and almost immediate
pronouncement of the death sentence; the tying of the victims to poles and
the shooting of the victims by three gunshots from three marksmen."
(c) 2006 ASSIST News Service, used with permission