Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
Immigration detention center urged to address human rights violations
Members of migrants' rights groups hold a press conference in front of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea office in central Seoul, Sept. 29, criticizing human rights violations at an immigration detention center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province. Korea Times photo by Ko Young-gwon
By Lee Hyo-jin
By Lee Hyo-jin
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has urged immigration authorities to address human rights violations that occurred at an immigration detention center and come up with measures to prevent any recurrence.
The human rights watchdog expressed this opinion, Tuesday, in response to a petition filed by a Moroccan man in his 30s who is currently being held at Hwaseong Immigration Detention Center in Gyeonggi Province.
An immigration detention center, operated by the Ministry of Justice, is a facility where undocumented foreign nationals are held before being deported.
The man, who was sent to the facility in March, claimed that he had been subject to inhumane treatment multiple times between May and June, due to the excessive use of force by the officers.
Surveillance footage of the cell, revealed in September by migrants' rights groups, showed the detainee lying on his stomach with his arms and legs bound with rope behind his back. His head was covered in protective headgear fastened with box tape and cable ties.
An investigation by the NHRCK revealed that he was tied up in this position four times, for periods ranging from 15 minutes to three hours.
Although officers at the center explained that putting the detainee under solitary confinement and using protective gear was an inevitable measure to deter him from violent behavior, the NHRCK said “the inhumane use of the protective gear is difficult to justify.”
It cited the United Nations standard minimum rules for the treatment of prisoners, also known as the “Nelson Mandela Rules,” which stipulate that “the use of chains, irons or other instruments of restraint which are inherently degrading or painful shall be prohibited.”
A Moroccan man is detained ― on his stomach with his feet and hands tied behind his back and with his head bound in protective head gear ― at Hwaseong Immigration Detention Center in Gyeonggi Province, in this video footage taken in June. Courtesy of the Duroo Association for Public Interest Law
“We took this case more seriously, as we had issued a similar recommendation to the Hwaseong Immigration Detention Center a year ago to rectify human rights violations that occurred then,” it added.
The rights watchdog recommended that the justice ministry limit the use of physical force on detainees as much as possible, and come up with measures to minimize physical pain and the violation of human rights in those exceptional cases when protective gear is used.
It also advised officers at the detention center to adhere to legal protocols when putting detainees under “special custody” or solitary confinement: officers must present valid reasons for doing so, and detainees should be guaranteed the opportunity to give a statement.
The authorities were also recommended to issue a disciplinary warning to the officers involved in this case, and provide them with training on the proper use of protective gear.
In addition, the commission viewed that repeated human rights violations at immigration detention centers are attributable not only to the lack of related legal grounds, but also to an absence of rules regarding the maximum period of detention.
Migrants' rights groups welcomed the NHRCK's decision, but pointed out the commission's lack of efforts towards immediately releasing the detainee.
“It is meaningful that our claim ― that the use of protective gear on him was in violation of the Constitution, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as basic human rights ― has been recognized by the human rights commission,” said a coalition of such groups through a statement.
“But it is regrettable that the commission did not recommend the immediate release of the victim, whose condition has been deteriorating due to the torture-like treatment he has experienced in the facility,” the coalition continued.