Democratic People's Republic of Korea: Visits & Communications
Correspondence from 2007
The record of correspondence for 2007 is excerpted from the official United Nations report, A/HRC/4/20/Add.1.
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea: Death Sentence of Son Jong Nam
Violation alleged: Non-respect of international standards relating to the imposition of capital punishment
Subject(s) of appeal: 1 male (religious minority)
Character of reply: Allegations rejected but without adequate substantiation
Observations of the Special Rapporteur
In keeping with a public statement made by him and other special procedures on 31 May 2006, the Special Rapporteur would reiterate that he is profoundly dismayed by the response of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and deplores its failure to cooperate with the special procedures established by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
Urgent appeal dated 26 April 2006 sent with the Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, Special Rapporteur on the question of torture and Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
We would like to bring to your attention information we have received regarding Mr. Son Jong Nam, who we understand is currently held imprisoned in the basement of the National Security Agency in Pyongyang in a critical health condition after he was reportedly tortured at the hands of members of the National Security Agency. We have been informed that he is accused of treason and that he is at risk of imminent execution. Information received does not indicate that a trial took place. The sentence is believed to have been passed by the National Security Agency.
According to the information received, Mr. Son Jong Nam had defected from North Korea in 1997 with his wife, son and brother. He 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 to May 1983. In 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. However, his claim was dismissed and he decided to leave North Korea to China shortly afterwards. Reported indicate that he attended Church in China and became a Christian.
Son Jong Nam was repatriated in April 2001 and imprisoned for three years in the Ham-yung-Buk area prison camp in North Korea. He was released on parole in May 2004 and was expelled to Chongjin where he worked at a rocket research institute.
In May 2004, Son Jong Nam was able to meet his brother in China and return to North Korea. However, the National Security Agency got to know about this trip and he was taken in by the secret police in January 2006 as he was leaving his younger sister's house in Pyongyang. Shortly afterwards, his two older and two younger sisters were exiled from Pyongyang.
It would appear that the charges against Mr. Son Jong Nam are grounded in his visit to China where he met with his brother and shared information with him on his life in South Korea.
According to the information we have received, the date of Mr. Son Jong Nam’s execution has not been communicated but reports indicate that it could be carried out sometime in April. It is further reported that the general practice is to only announce executions for murder and other common crimes while dates of executions for treason are not made public in advance.
While we do not wish to prejudge the accuracy of these allegations, we would like to respectfully remind your Excellency that States have the legal duty to ensure and respect the right to life and that this right shall be protected by law. In addition, in countries which have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes in accordance with the law in force at the time of the commission of the crime. This penalty can only be carried out pursuant to a final judgment rendered by a competent court (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, article 6 paragraphs 1 and 2).
Without in any way making any determination on whether the detention of Mr. Son Jong Nam is arbitrary or not, we would like to appeal to your Excellency's Government to take all necessary measures to guarantee his right not to be deprived arbitrarily of his liberty and to fair proceedings before an independent and impartial tribunal, in accordance with articles 9 and 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and articles 9 and 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
We also recall that Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/39 urges States to ensure that any statement, which is established to have been made as a result of torture shall not be invoked in any proceedings, except against a person accused of torture as evidence that the statement was made. This principle is an essential aspect of the right to physical and mental integrity set forth, inter alia, in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Declaration on the Protection of All persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
We urge your Excellency’s Government to take all necessary measures to guarantee that the rights under international law of Mr. Son Jong Nam are respected. This can only mean suspension of the capital punishment against him until all allegations relating to the absence of trial and the recourse to torture have been thoroughly investigated. Moreover, international law requires that the accountability of any person guilty of subjecting Mr. Son Jong Nam to torture is ensured.
In view of the urgency of the matter, we would appreciate a response on the initial steps taken by your Excellency’s Government.
1. Are the facts alleged in the above summary of the case accurate?
2. Please provide the details about the steps taken to guarantee that Mr. Son Jong Nam was sentenced to death by a competent court after a fair trial.
3. Please provide the details, and where available the results, of any investigation, medical examinations, and judicial or other inquiries carried out in relation to the arrest, detention and allegations of torture of Mr. Son Jong Nam. If no enquiries have taken place or if they have been inconclusive please explain why.
4. Please provide the full details of any prosecutions which have been undertaken with regard to the alleged torture of Mr. Son Jong Nam. Have penal, disciplinary or administrative sanctions been imposed on the perpetrators?
Response of the Government of Democratic People’s Republic of Korea dated 5 May 2006
According to the Government “this joint letter like previous ones also represents a product of conspiracy undertaken in pursuit of the ill-minded aim of spreading fabricated information while following the attempts of those hostile forces to defame, disintegrate and overthrow the state and social system of the DPRK on the pretext of human rights. The letter has therefore no relevance to genuine human rights. Therefore, we resolutely and categorically reject the letter once again. For this and those other reasons stated on previous joint letters, unfortunately, I send back to you the joint letter of 3 special rapporteurs and the Chairperson of the working group on arbitrary detention dated April 26, 2006.”
Correspondence from 1983-2002
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions has been corresponding with Governments regarding alleged violations since the mandate was established over two decades ago. While the Project on Extrajudicial Executions is making efforts to provide easily browsed versions of as many years as possible, much of the earlier correspondence is available only in the PDF versions of reports from 1983 to the present.