Hidden Facts about North Korea Ple@sure Squad

Human Rights Violations in North Korea's Pretrial Detention System

The pretrial detention and investigation system in North Korea is arbitrary and severely lacks due process, as highlighted in a report by Human Rights Watch. Former detainees have recounted experiences of systematic torture, hazardous and unhygienic conditions, and unpaid forced labor.

Overview of the Report

The 88-page report, titled “‘Worth Less Than an Animal’: Abuses and Due Process Violations in Pretrial Detention in North Korea,” offers a comprehensive examination of the country’s opaque criminal justice system. It underscores North Korea’s deficient legal and institutional framework and the political influence over its courts and law enforcement agencies by the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea.

“North Korea’s pretrial detention and investigation system is arbitrary, violent, cruel, and degrading,” stated Brad Adams, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “North Koreans say they live in constant fear of being caught in a system where official procedures are usually irrelevant, guilt is presumed, and the only way out is through bribes and connections.”

Interviews and Testimonies

Human Rights Watch conducted interviews with eight former North Korean government officials who had fled the country, and 22 North Koreans—comprising 15 women and 7 men—who were detained and interrogated in facilities known as kuryujang since 2011, the year Kim Jong Un assumed power.

Former detainees reported having no knowledge of their fate post-arrest, no access to independent legal representation, and no means to appeal against torture or violations of the criminal procedure law. An official investigation typically culminates in a sentence involving short-term or long-term unpaid forced labor. Female detainees reported instances of sexual harassment and assault, including rape.

Conditions and Treatment in Detention

Detainees described being forced to remain still on the floor for days, kneeling or sitting with legs crossed, fists or hands on their laps, heads down, and eyes directed to the floor. Any movement was met with individual or collective punishment.

Four former government officials revealed that the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea considers detainees as inferior human beings, unworthy of direct eye contact with law enforcement officers, and often referred to by numbers instead of their names.

A former soldier, who fled North Korea in 2017 after multiple detentions for smuggling and attempting to escape to South Korea, recounted: “If we moved, we were punished by standing and sitting, doing push-ups, abdominals, or holding onto the metal bars. Some guards made us put our face between the bars or hit our fingers through the bars with a stick or with the gun. If they were really upset, they’d come into the cell and beat us. This happened every day, if not in our cell in the others, we could hear it, it was to maintain tension.… There were times I was almost about to give up on life.… While I was there, more than 50 detainees disappeared [into the political prison camp system].”

Conclusion

The report by Human Rights Watch sheds light on the severe human rights violations within North Korea's pretrial detention system. The testimonies of former detainees and officials highlight the arbitrary nature of arrests, the lack of due process, and the cruel and inhumane treatment of detainees, underscoring the urgent need for international attention and intervention.

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