Vietnamese workers rights violated during clampdown

By Lee Hyo-sik

Police officers violated the human rights of Vietnamese workers caught for gambling by physically abusing them during a raid and interrogation late last year, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) said Thursday.

The rights agency suggested the officers be reprimanded for the inappropriate behavior.

But it did not hold officers responsible for the death of two Vietnamese workers who drowned in a nearby river while attempting to flee from the police.

The rights commission’s decision came after Gimhae Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) and Gyeongnam Migrant Community Service Center in South Gyeongsang Province filed the complaints against the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency.

“During a clampdown, the police beat the Vietnamese workers indiscriminately in the head and the arms, causing severe physical injuries. The officers clearly violated the workers’ rights to physical safety,” NHRC said in a statement.

The commission also said the officers kicked the workers, and punched their heads and faces during the interrogation.

“The laborers were also tied up with rope throughout the questioning and were allowed to go to the bathroom only in a group,” it said. “They were offered only a cup of instant noodles during the 17-hour questioning. All these clearly violated the workers’ rights to human dignity and physical well-being.”

Police not responsible for deaths

But the commission said the police cannot be held accountable for the two Vietnamese who drowned in a nearby river after fleeing the scene. “The police could have taken measures to prevent them from running away. But it is difficult to hold the officers directly responsible for their deaths.”

It issued a recommendation to the Commissioner of Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency that the officers involved in the crackdown on gambling Vietnamese be disciplined.

“All police personnel should undergo extensive training on the protection of a suspect’s human rights. We hope the police will double their efforts to respect the human rights of suspects. So, there will be no more tragedies like this happening again,” a NHRC spokesman Yoon Seol-ah said.

Case going to court

However, Gimhae YMCA and Gyeongnam Migrant Community Service Center have vowed to take the case to court, claiming the government should financially compensate the families of the two dead Vietnamese workers.

On Dec. 18, an international crime unit of Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency raided a dormitory of a small firm in Gimhae where a group of Vietnamese workers were gambling.

During the crackdown, the two workers jumped out of the window and ran away from the police. But the two fell into a two-meter-deep river and drowned.

Other Vietnamese also complained that they were physically abused during the interrogation. Following the incident, the head of the crime unit was dismissed and the four officers were suspended from duties.

인권위 "도박 베트남인 익사사고 인권침해 인정"

지난해 12월 경남경찰청 소속 경찰관들의 도박 단속을 피해 달아나던 베트남인 2명이 익사한 사고에 대해 국가인권위원회가 단속과정에서 발생했던 인권침해를 인정하고 해당 경찰관들에 대한 징계조치를 권고했다.

국가인권위는 이 같은 내용을 진정을 했던 김해YMCA 외국인노동자지원센터와 경남이주민센터 등에 통보했다고 24일 밝혔다.

인권위는 결정문에서 당시 경찰의 단속과정에서 베트남인들의 머리와 팔 등을 무차별 가격해 상해를 입힌 행위는 경찰장구 사용범위를 넘어서 신체안전을 보장받을 권리를 침해했다고 판단했다.

또 조사과정에서 베트남인들을 발로 차고 손바닥으로 머리와 빰을 때린 점, 임시로 사용했어야 할 케이블줄로 베트남인들을 장시간 묶어놓고 2~4명씩 함께 화장실에 보낸 점, 체포된 후 17시간 동안 컵라면 하나만 제공한 점은 베트남인들의 인격권과 건강권, 신체의 자유와 안전을 보장받은 권리를 침해했다고 인권위는 밝혔다.

이에 따라 인권위는 당시 단속에 나섰던 경찰관들을 징계조치하고 재발방지를 위해 소속 직원들에 대해 인권교육을 실시할 것을 경남지방경찰청장에게 권고했다.

인권위는 그러나 베트남인 2명이 달아나다 하천에 빠져 익사한 것에 대해서는 도주로 차단 등의 조치를 미리 취하지 못한 점을 탓할 수는 있지만 인과관계를 인정하기 어렵다며 책임을 물을 수 없다고 판단했다.

지난해 12월 19일 새벽 경남경찰청 국제범죄수사대가 김해시의 한 중소기업 기숙사에서 벌어진 베트남인 집단 불법도박을 단속하는 과정에서 베트남인 2명이 창문을 넘어 달아나다 깊이 2ｍ 가량의 하천에 빠져 숨졌다.

경남경찰청은 감독책임을 물어 외사과장과 국제범죄수사대장을 직위해제하고 현장에 출동했던 소속 경찰관 가운데 4명을 대기발령했다.

인권위 결정에 대해 경남이주민센터는 "국가인권위가 베트남인 2명이 사망한 것에 대한 경찰책임을 인정하지 않은 만큼 국가배상 소송을 통해 사법부의 판단을 구하겠다"고 밝혔다.