"Worth less than an animal" : abuses and due process violations in pretrial detention in North Korea

"North Korea's pre-trial detention and criminal investigation system is opaque, arbitrary, and violent. Little is known about North. Little is known about North Korean law, how it works in practice, or how North Koreans try to navigate it. People in pre-trial detention are subjected to beatings, sexual violence, dangerous and unhygienic conditions and other mistreatment in interrogation facilities (kuryujang). The way detainees are treated often depends on access to connections and money. [This report] describes the criminal investigation and detention system and highlights North Korea's weak legal and institutional framework, the lack of due process, and the political nature of the courts and law enforcement agencies under the ruling Workers' Party of Korea."--Page 4 of cover northkorea1020_reportcover_web.pdf Binder1.pdf northkorea1020_insert.pdf Map Korean Language Glossary Acronyms Methodology I. North Korea’s Security and Law Enforcement Agencies II. A Flawed Criminal Procedure Law and System Criminal Law, Procedure and Punishment Criminal Investigation and Prosecution Investigation Preliminary Examination Prosecution Trial North Korean Courts Quasi-Judiciary System Corruption and Law Enforcement III. Pretrial Detention Facilities in North Korea IV. Abuses in Pretrial Detention and Interrogation Facilities Beaten and Abused Case of Heo Yun Mi Case of Park Ji Cheol Case of Kim Sun Young Case of Kim Keum Chul Case of Yoon Young Cheol Unhealthy and Inhumane Detention Conditions Case of Baek Sol Hee Case of Heo Yun Mi Case of Yoon Young Cheol Bribes and Connections Case of Kim Keum Chul Case of Lim Ok Kyung Case of Jin Sol V. Relevant International Human Rights Law and Standards Right to Fair Trial and Due Process Right to freedom from torture and ill-treatment Women’s Rights Recommendations To the North Korean Government: Cooperation with the United Nations Legal and Judicial Reform Law Enforcement Detention Facilities and Prisons International Human Rights Obligations To South Korea, the United States, Japan, the European Union and its Member States, the UK, China, Other Concerned Governments, UN Agencies, and International NGOS with a Presence in North Korea: Acknowledgments northkorea1020_insert_LOWRES.pdf "Nearly 30 years after a Royal Commission inquiry into Aboriginal deaths in custody, Western Australia's prisons remain damaging and too often deadly for people with disabilities, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. A Human Rights Watch analysis of deaths in those prisons between 2010 and 2020 found that about 60 percent of adult prisoners who died had a disability. Due to limited resources, mental health services in prisons are inadequate. 'He's Never Coming Back'--based on interviews with 40 people, including prisoners, family members, mental health professionals, lawyers, Aboriginal leaders, and disability rights advocates--examines emblematic cases of deaths in custody, revealing repeated failures by authorities to provide adequate and culturally competent mental health services in prisons in Western Australia"--Page 4 of cover