A/HRC/WGAD/2012/47
(d)
When asylum seekers, immigrants or refugees are subjected to prolonged
administrative custody without the possibility of administrative or judicial review or
remedy (category IV);
(e)
When the deprivation of liberty constitutes a violation of international law for
reasons of discrimination based on birth; national, ethnic or social origin; language;
religion; economic condition; political or other opinion; gender; sexual orientation; or
disability or other status, and which aims towards or can result in ignoring the equality of
human rights (category V).
Submissions
Communication from the source
3.
Kang Mi-ho, born in 1970, usually resides in South Hamgyong Province,
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Around May 2011, Ms. Kang was arrested by the
National Security Agency (NSA) of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. She was
allegedly taken with her 11-year-old son Kim Jeong-nam to Kwan-li-so No. 15 at Yodok,
South Hamgyong Province, also known as Camp 15. Both Ms. Kang and her son used to
live near the camp and Ms. Kang had previously been a prisoner there.
4.
The source submits that the reason for Ms. Kang’s and her son’s detention is linked
to the activities of Ms. Kang’s brother since his defection, and to the fact that he was
regularly sending money to assist Ms. Kang and her family. Ms. Kang’s brother, who has
left the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, is reportedly a famous dissident working
as a reporter for The Chosun Ilbo, a major newspaper in the Republic of Korea. In early
2008, Ms. Kang’s brother had allegedly sent her money through a Korean-Chinese broker.
He then received a letter, handwritten by Ms. Kang, stating that she had safely received the
money through the broker. Since then, Mr. Kang has been sending money to his sister
through the same broker. However, in July 2011, the broker contacted Mr. Kang and
explained that he had temporarily been imprisoned by the NSA and that he could not find
Ms. Kang.
5.
Shin Kyung-seop, born in 1946 in South Pyongan Province, was arrested in Oidongri, Kaecheon, South Pyongan Province in 1965 by the NSA. He was taken to Kwan-li-so
Camp 14, Oidong-ri, Kaecheon, South Pyongan Province, together with his parents and two
brothers. The source reports that Mr. Shin’s detention is directly linked to the fact that his
older brother, Shin Tae Seop, had fled to the Republic of Korea during the Korean War. It
is alleged that because of his brother’s associations and defection during the Korean War,
Mr. Shin’s entire family has spent over 40 years in Camp 14.
6.
Remaining under strict surveillance of the camp’s guards, Mr. Shin was allowed to
marry a woman and they had two children. In April 1996, Mr. Shin’s wife and their oldest
son were caught while trying to escape from the camp. As a result, Mr. Shin and his
younger son were taken to an underground prison, where they were allegedly tortured. Mr.
Shin’s legs were broken and his right leg has since faced outwards in an unnatural way. It is
reported that Mr. Shin is currently in a critical health condition.
7.
The source contends that the detention of Ms. Kang, Mr. Kim and Mr. Shin’s family
is solely linked to their blood relationship, as expressed by the guilt-by-association practice
relating to offences prescribed in articles 44 to 55 of the Criminal Code of the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea. In addition, the detention of Ms. Kang and her son is related to
the peaceful exercise of the rights to freedom of opinion and expression and freedom of
assembly and association by her brother in the Republic of Korea. The source maintains
that their detention is a direct result of their next of kin’s exercise of the rights guaranteed
under articles 19 and 20, paragraph 1, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
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