A South Korean activist has been diagnosed with a severe anxiety illness after undergoing an extensive medical exam to detect signs of torture he claimed took place during his detention in China, hospital officials said Thursday.
Kim Young-hwan and three other activists returned to the South last month after being held in China since late March. The 49-year-old activist alleges he was tortured by Chinese security agents with beatings, electric shocks and sleep deprivation during the first month of his captivity.
With Beijing denying the allegations, Kim and his supporters have sought proof of his claims so as to bring his case to the international level and punish those responsible as well as raise awareness of the alleged ill treatment of foreign prisoners in China.
Though results of Kim's two-day medical checkup since Monday showed that physically he "is in good shape," psychological tests revealed he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), according to officials at Seoul National University Hospital's Bundang branch, located south of Seoul.
"We have diagnosed Kim with PTSD, presumably caused by the physical injury and mental trauma he received during his alleged detention," a hospital official said.
PTSD is a form of mental illness triggered by terrifying events such as war, torture, natural disasters or accidents. Those diagnosed with PTSD often struggle with depression, drug abuse, panic or impulse disorders as a result of traumatic events.
Despite the lack of physical evidence, "the doctors' diagnosis of PTSD can be seen as proof of the torture," an activist close to Kim insisted.
"We are currently collecting additional circumstantial evidence including a composite sketch of the perpetrators."
The activist said he is looking to bring Kim's case to the U.N. special rapporteur on torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and also ask the U.S. Congress and the European Parliament to hold hearings on his claims later this month.
A former leader of an underground leftist party, Kim previously visited Pyongyang in 1991 to meet North Korea's founding leader Kim Il-sung. He later became a fierce critic of the North and now works for a rights group based in Seoul. (Yonhap)