By Kim Rahn
A group of relatives of victims and survivors of the ferry Sewol tragedy filed a petition with the Constitutional Court, Wednesday, to prevent police from using water cannons containing hazardous chemicals against protesters.
According to the relatives and the Lawyers for a Democratic Society (LDS), they suffered from health problems after being hit by water cannons containing a 0.3 percent solution of pelargonic acid vanillylamide (PAVA), a chemical incapacitant, during recent rallies.
"Water cannons containing the substance infringe on citizens' basic rights such as the right to life and health, and the freedom of assembly," an official from Minbyun said. "Police use the cannons without legal grounds in violation of the Constitution."
PAVA is known to cause distress to the lungs and airways, and studies show overexposure to the chemical can cause serious long-term damage to internal organs and even death.
One of the family members, Jang Dong-won, who is the father of one of surviving students of the ferry sinking, was hit by a water cannon on his right cheek during an overnight rally in central Seoul on May 1, according to the LDS.
He claimed that police kept firing the cannon at him although he had already collapsed in the street, causing him to swallow a lot of water. After the rally he went to a hospital suffering from a sore throat, and was diagnosed with laryngitis.
Another protester, surnamed Lee, vomited after being hit by the water and was transferred to a nearby hospital. A third protestor also claimed that blisters formed on his arms and legs after the water soaked him.
The law on police practices has an ambiguous clause about water cannons, saying, "Hazardous equipment should be used as rarely as possible." Another clause says police can use water cannons containing an incapacitant, but does not specify what types of chemicals are permitted.
"There is no rule about what kinds of chemicals police can use for the water cannons and in what concentration they can be used. The clauses should become clearer, so that police do not use chemicals arbitrarily," the official said.
Some activists filed a similar petition in 2011 when police fired water cannons ― without an incapacitant at that time ― during a protest, but the Constitutional Court rejected it in June of last year, saying the police's actions were over and so was the infringement of the protestors' basic rights.
However, three justices said at that time that the court needed to review the petition, saying the law did not have detailed rules about the use of water cannons even though the cannons could harm people.
A group of relatives of victims and survivors of the ferry Sewol tragedy filed a petition with the Constitutional Court, Wednesday, to prevent police from using water cannons containing hazardous chemicals against protesters.
According to the relatives and the Lawyers for a Democratic Society (LDS), they suffered from health problems after being hit by water cannons containing a 0.3 percent solution of pelargonic acid vanillylamide (PAVA), a chemical incapacitant, during recent rallies.
"Water cannons containing the substance infringe on citizens' basic rights such as the right to life and health, and the freedom of assembly," an official from Minbyun said. "Police use the cannons without legal grounds in violation of the Constitution."
PAVA is known to cause distress to the lungs and airways, and studies show overexposure to the chemical can cause serious long-term damage to internal organs and even death.
One of the family members, Jang Dong-won, who is the father of one of surviving students of the ferry sinking, was hit by a water cannon on his right cheek during an overnight rally in central Seoul on May 1, according to the LDS.
He claimed that police kept firing the cannon at him although he had already collapsed in the street, causing him to swallow a lot of water. After the rally he went to a hospital suffering from a sore throat, and was diagnosed with laryngitis.
Another protester, surnamed Lee, vomited after being hit by the water and was transferred to a nearby hospital. A third protestor also claimed that blisters formed on his arms and legs after the water soaked him.
The law on police practices has an ambiguous clause about water cannons, saying, "Hazardous equipment should be used as rarely as possible." Another clause says police can use water cannons containing an incapacitant, but does not specify what types of chemicals are permitted.
"There is no rule about what kinds of chemicals police can use for the water cannons and in what concentration they can be used. The clauses should become clearer, so that police do not use chemicals arbitrarily," the official said.
Some activists filed a similar petition in 2011 when police fired water cannons ― without an incapacitant at that time ― during a protest, but the Constitutional Court rejected it in June of last year, saying the police's actions were over and so was the infringement of the protestors' basic rights.
However, three justices said at that time that the court needed to review the petition, saying the law did not have detailed rules about the use of water cannons even though the cannons could harm people.
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